Robert Gruber

ROBERT S. GRUBER



Mass of Christian burial for Robert S. Gruber, 98, of Lindsay is set for 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 14th at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Lindsay with Father Raymond McDaniel officiating. Burial will follow in St. Peter’s Cemetery in Lindsay under the direction of Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home of Gainesville. Rosary will begin at 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening, March 13th followed by visitation at the funeral home. Mr. Gruber died peacefully early Sunday morning at North Texas Medical Center.



Robert Sylvester Alphonse Joseph Gruber was born in Albany, Georgia on November 26, 1913, the second son of Fred J. and Clara Schmidlkofer Gruber. Robert attended school in Albany and Leesburg, Georgia before moving with his family to Lindsay in 1921. He attended Van Slyke country school northwest of Lindsay near Wolf Ridge and later graduated with an eighth-grade education from St. Peter’s School in Lindsay. There was no high school in Lindsay at the time and he did not want to walk to Myra, so as a young man he worked on the family farm two miles west of Lindsay. He received a certificate of business in 1935 at St. Mary’s Business School in Gainesville. During the late 1930’s he worked at the courthouse in the Cooke County Clerk’s office. From 1940 to 1958, he was employed as a bookkeeper at the Rural Electric Authority in Muenster. On August 13, 1960 he married Marian Starke, the daughter of Joseph and Anna Starke, in Sacred Heart Church in Muenster. That same month, after returning from their honeymoon in Florida, he opened Lindsay Liquors. Along with his wife, Marian, he owned and operated their business for 25 years. Robert semi-retired in 1976 and continued working part-time until the store was sold in 1985. Following his retirement, he enjoyed spending his time gardening, playing cards and dominos, and traveling, spending several winters in south Texas. During his travels, he had visited every state except Alaska. Over the past decade, his health had declined due to heart disease, but he was able to remain living at home with his family. He was a member of St. Peter’s Parish for 91 years.



Robert is survived by his wife, Marian; daughter and son-in-law, Annette & Joe Schmitz of Lindsay; daughter, Alice Margaret Gruber of Lindsay, and one sister, Margaret Gruber of Denton. He was preceded in death by his parents and his three brothers, Francis William “Bill” Gruber, Randolph Gruber, and James Harold Gruber.



Pallbearers will be Virgil Forrester, Michael Forrester, Mark Forrester, and Vernon Forrester (nephews), Paul Ray Baird, and Rudy Schumacher. Honorary pallbearers will be Michael Fuhrmann, Leon Fuhrmann, Jerome Fuhrmann, Bill Dankesreiter, Gilbert Kubis, and Lynn Huchton.



Memorial contributions may be made to the restoration of St. Peter’s Church.