Gilbert Gramberg, 91, of Livermore, Colorado, formerly of O'Neill, died Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Christ Lutheran Church in O'Neill with burial to follow in the O'Neill Cemetery. The Rev. John Nelson will officiate.
Memorials may be directed to the family for future designation.
Biglin's Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Gilbert (Gil) Gerhardt Gramberg was born near Wayne on Sept. 2, 1929 to Ludwig Heinrich and Lucy Ann (Kester) Gramberg. Gil was raised on a farm outside of Wayne. He and his family worked hard doing every aspect of farming and ranching during a time when they farmed with teams of horses and raised, or grew, almost everything they needed. They had an outhouse and a hand pump well and a wood burning kitchen stove for heat. For years he went to a country school and graduated from Wayne High School in 1947.
Gil fell in love with, and married, his wife of 69 years, Bernice (Pingel) in Wayne. They made life-long friends every place they lived. Early in their marriage they were youth leaders and very involved with the Lutheran Church. Gil served in the National Guard for eight years. Soon after high school, Gil began working for Safeway. He worked for Safeway in many different departments before becoming Manager. He successfully managed the Safeway store in O’Neill for many years before retiring after 35 years. After retiring from Safeway, he worked as a financial planner for two years then went to work for Country General and served in many capacities. Gil retired from Country General as manager of the O’Neill store. He was awarded Manager of the Year before retiring.
Gilbert and Bernice were members of Christ Lutheran Church in O’Neill. Gilbert volunteered for many church ministries and held various positions within the Church. Some of those being Church Council, usher, radio ministry, grounds maintenance, facility construction and maintenance, men’s ministry, fundraising, visitation, financial planning, vacation Bible school, and pre-school development. Gil also volunteered for many community projects and activities. He also worked on the development of a shooting range for the area.
Gil was close with his sons, Gary and Curt. He was a leader in Boy Scouts and helped them both become Eagle Scouts. He was involved with their sports and taught them many things, including hunting, fishing, woodwork, construction, gardening, business, faithfulness, mechanics, and so much more. He supported them and their families in everything throughout his life. He was a fun, loving grandparent and great-grandparent. He loved to laugh and was always ready with a good joke.
Gil’s hobbies included hunting, fishing, re-loading ammunition, trap shooting, marksmanship, rifle building, playing cards, woodworking, construction, and gardening. He loved to design and make things that solved problems or made processes more efficient. He enjoyed coming up with ideas to solve problems.
Survivors include his brother, Merlyn (Karleen) Gramberg of Chadron, and sister, Joy West of Brennan, Texas; his two sons, Gary (Christine) Gramberg of Loveland, Colorado, and Curt (Sherry) Gramberg of Livermore, Colorado; five granddaughters, Jaime (Shawn) Yunker, Lisa Gramberg, Erin (Josh) Fousek, Jessica (Cameron) Gramberg and Stephanie (Eric) Gramberg three grandsons, Jacob Gramberg, Jack Gramberg, and Mark Gramberg; two step-granddaughters, Stephanie Cooke and Jessica (Harrison) Keatinge; step-grandson Paul (Ashley) Cooke; twelve great-grandchildren, Mackenzie, Regan, Ellianna, Kason, Jade, Myla, Oliver, Maverick, Nolan, Ava, Oriana, and Reginald; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents Ludwig and Lucy Gramberg; his wife, Bernice; two brothers, Dale and Kenneth Gramberg; and sister, Rodella Wacker.
