Joseph Anton Groele

Joseph A. Groele, age 92. Beloved husband of Marlina E. Voigt and the late Waltraud. Loving Father of Lori (Ronald) Fobes, and Robert (Rebecca). Dear Grandfather of Amanda, Curtis, Martin, Monica, and Joseph. Brother of Emily (Craig) Toth and the late Julia (Alfred) Schmitz. Brother-in-law of Ingrid (Werner) Bock. Uncle to many nieces and nephews.

He was born in 1928 in Schoenacher, Poland. In 1944 his family had to flee and wound up in the Czech part of Austria. After being expelled from Czechoslovakia, the family moved to Oberschlessien where they stayed for one year. They were then forced to leave and settled in a German town called Runderoth near Cologne. They resided there for four years until they immigrated to the US in 1950. Before becoming a US citizen, he was drafted into the Army where he proudly served as a paratrooper in the Korean War. He was an active singer in the GBU Saxonia Rheingold German Mixed Chorus for 57 years and held the position of 1st Vice President for 26 years as well as 1st Vice President of the GBU District 821 for 18 years. He was also an active member of the The Austrian Society since 1991, the Austrian Ski Club since 1993, and the Carpathia Club for a number of years. He belonged to the German American Cultural Center (GACC) for many years where he held positions of Delegate at Large, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents and chaired a number of the GACC events. He also received the honor of German American of the Year in 2008 for all his work in preserving the German Culture. Outside of the German Clubs, he was a member of the National Rakkasan Association (187th Airborn Regimental Combat Team Association, Inc.), the Huron Pointe Sportsmen Association where he served as Financial Secretary for 6 years and Board of Directors for 25 years. He was active as a shooting instructor for the Boy Scouts, served as a representative to the Michigan United Conservation Club, and was a member of the National Rifle Association. He enjoyed turkey and deer hunting, being a bee keeper, making homemade sauerkraut and pickles, doing some locksmithing, gardening, building things, and taking care of his some 35 pigeons. He was always there to help his friends who needed help with their building or repair projects. He will truly be missed by many. A celebration of life will be held in the future. Memorial contributions can be made to the Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301 or Veterans of Foreign Wars, 406 West 34th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.

Joseph’s family will receive friends for visitation from 3:00pm – 7:00pm on Thursday, December 3rd and from 3:00pm - 7:00pm on Friday, December 4th at A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 32000 Schoenherr Rd., Warren (Schoenherr and Masonic). All Joseph’s friends and extended family are welcome and encouraged to attend the visitation on Thursday and Friday and are asked to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines. Due to Michigan’s capacity constrictions, Joseph’s funeral service will be held privately on Saturday, December 5th. A celebration of Joseph’s life will be held for all his friends and extended family in the future.