Lawrence Donald Gronow

    Lawrence Donald Gronow went to his Lord and Savior on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at the age of
90 years old. He was born to Milton Henry Gronow and Erdis Fae (Smith) Gronow on March 2,
1935 in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Larry attended Emerson Grammar School in Dayton, Ohio. He went to
McDonough #9 and Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he played
baseball and football. Despite his 5’7” stature, he was on the City All-Star Team. His college
years were spent at Southeastern Louisiana College in Hammond and UCLA as a psychology
major. After struggling in a Chemistry class and trying to avoid getting a draft notice, he took the
advice of a good friend to test and qualify for the Army Language School in Monterey,
California. His aptitude for languages did qualify him, and he became a Russian Linguist in the
Army Security Agency. He was then stationed in Heilbronn, Germany, where he translated radio
communications between Eastern Germany and Russia. He would often say, with a wink and a
grin, “I was a spy in the Army. I would tell you what I did, but then I would have to kill you!”.

    Because he had such a gift for languages and such an understanding of the Bible, he decided
to attend the local Baptist Church to teach himself German. Upon meeting Larry, no one could
escape his wonderful story-telling of seeing Hilde, his beloved wife of almost 62 years, for the
first time at the “Baptiste Gemeinde.” He would say, “In walked this beautiful girl, in a cute
purple and green jacket. And I thought ‘whooo-weee.’ The Lord was telling me something!
Wow!”. Their first conversation was about her bike, which looked just like his that had been
“gestollen.” Their friendship grew along with their love for one another. When he first asked
Hilde’s father, Heinrich, for her hand in marriage, he was told to “verheiraten” one of her friends
instead, who was of no interest to Larry. After coming back to California, he decided he had to
return to Germany in 1963 and marry Hilde, despite Heinrich’s objections. They were married at
the “Rathaus” in Heilbronn on June 15th, 1963.

    Larry and Hilde lived in Riverside, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kaysville, Utah,
before finally moving to Oceanside, California in 1977. They were blessed with 3 daughters, 3
sons-in-law, 11 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren:
Heidi Giacoletti, her husband Mark, and their children Adriana Giacoletti-Crandall (Ben),
Alexandra Giacoletti-Hacker (Ryan), Christina Giacoletti, and Nicholas Giacoletti
Renee Krippner, her husband Gerry, and their children Evan Krippner, Andrew Krippner
(Brittany), grandchildren Sadie and Ansel, and Ryan Krippner (fiancé Sierra)
Allison Kawano, her husband Gary, and their children Caleb Kawano, Olivia Kawano,
Samuel Kawano, and Emilia Kawano

    Later in life, Larry worked for Xerox, Meryl Lynch, Lanier Copiers, and then owned his own
Insurance Agency as a General Agent with 10 agents under him. His final job was working as a
funeral director, a job that gave him the opportunity, at times, to share his faith with grieving
families. Telling others about the love of Jesus and the way to have a personal and saving
relationship with Him seemed to come easy for Larry. For many years, he taught Sunday School
to people of all ages, and he had a Prison Ministry where he reminded the inmates that “All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” He taught them there is “forgiveness of sin and
redemption for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.” He would share the Word of God
with anyone willing to listen. It brought him such joy.

    Larry was preceded in death by his wonderful parents, Milton and Erdis Gronow, sister
Patricia Jean Hillburn Bell, niece Susie Hillburn Reed Wright, and nephew Robert Bell.
He is survived by his dear sister Sharon Gralewski Gerloff Daigle (Boogie) and her daughters
Joy Mantelli, Laurie Gilbert, Cheri La Scala, Lisa Gralewski and their families, his nephew Glen
Hillburn (Venita) and family, great-niece Melissa Reed Peterson (Paul) and family, and
great-nephews Sidney Wright and Michael Bell.

    There will be a Celebration of Life in honor of Lawrence Gronow, held at Coastline Baptist
Church in Oceanside, CA on Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. To celebrate Larry’s
love of “words of affirmation,” there will be a short time for sharing stories and memories of
Larry if you would like to participate.

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