Edith Kathleen Gross

Edith was born to Paul and Lily Felten in Gardnerville, Nevada on March 15, 1924, the youngest of nine children. She attended school in Gardnerville, and sometimes talked of being a drummer in the high school band. Up until her death, she could still tap out drum cadences she’d learned those many years before. After graduating high school, Edith did clerical and secretarial work in the office of a local dairy. The work ethic instilled by her parents must have served her well, because she jokingly, if not somewhat proudly, said it took two people to replace her when she left. She met her future husband, Richard E. Gross, when he was assigned to be the intern at the Lutheran Church in Gardnerville, where her father served as pastor. They were married on April 24, 1948, after Richard had graduated from seminary, and shortly thereafter moved to Elmira, New York, where Richard had been called to serve as pastor to the Lutheran Church there. Less than a year later they returned to the west coast, where Richard and Edith ministered to congregations in Cottage Grove, Coos Bay, Hillsboro, and Portland, Oregon, Nampa, Idaho, and Kennewick, Washington. When Richard retired, they settled in Beaverton, Oregon.

Throughout Richard’s pastoral ministry and into retirement, Edith volunteered on church committees, and with various service organizations, most recently the Elsie Stuhr Center in Beaverton, Oregon. In the little spare time she found, she enjoyed making quilts (all of which were gifted to family members), flower gardens, taking daily walks, and in recent years, reading. But her real calling in life was that of raising and caring for her family.

Edith is survived by her seven children, Paul, Dave, Steve, Chris Todd, Gary, Larry, and Michael, her 15 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, and a lifetime of cherished memories. Those shared by her seven children would include annual trips to visit family in Nevada or the San Francisco Bay area, all nine jammed into the station wagon, the aroma of freshly baked bread and cookies, Swedish meatballs, Grandma’s Apple Goodie, dinner and devotion around the family table every night, Christmas Eve (with more cookies), trips to McCall, Idaho, and weeks spent at the Schilling’s beach house in Arch Cape, Oregon. Perhaps not all her children remember that she darned socks. Who does that anymore? As they became adults with families of their own, the shared memories were events like the annual Christmas gathering (aka the “Grossaganza”), the annual family reunion and golf tournament (aka the “Gross Open”), weddings, and anniversaries. And now deaths… Through it all, Edith was always loving, gentle, self-sacrificing, giving, compassionate, quick to forgive, and slow to anger. Do any of us remember her ever speaking out in anger against anyone? We love, and will miss you, mom…grandma…great grandma…aunt…friend. See you in heaven.

Private family graveside and memorial services are scheduled for November 6, 2021, with arrangements made through Finley-Sunset Hills Mortuary. The family requests that those wishing to make gifts in remembrance of Edith do so to Trinity Lutheran School, 5520 NE Killingsworth, Portland, OR 97218, Prince of Peace Lutheran Preschool, 14175 NW Cornell Rd., Portland, OR 97229, or Kids of the Kingdom Christian Preschool, 17625 NW Cornell Rd., Beaverton, OR 97006.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.finleysunsethills.com for the Gross family.