Adele Pauline (Gumbin) Grigas, age 97, passed away peacefully on the evening of July 23, 2023. She was the devoted wife of Alfons (Al) Grigas for 58 years, until his death in 2005. The youngest of three sisters (Julia and Stella), she was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on March 22, 1926, to Apolonia (Brach) Gumbin and Michael Gumbin, immigrants from Poland and Lithuania, respectively. She was buried alongside her husband in the Florida Military National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, as she wished.
She is survived by her four children: Peter Grigas & wife Pam of North Bend, Oregon; Paula Harvey & husband Michael of Sedona, Arizona; Steven Grigas & wife Dale of Tallahassee, Florida; and Lisa Roghaar & husband Peter of Newberry, Florida.
She was the beloved “Babci” to Alex Grigas (wife Jennifer), Kelly Grigas, Jared Grigas, Ryan Roghaar, Samantha Roghaar, and Patrick Roghaar, and was thrilled to be great grandma to Jude, Jack, and Jordan Grigas.
Adele led a life unlike most other housewives of her generation. She met her husband in grade school. When Al joined the army and was sent overseas to Germany in WWII, Adele and her friends wrote letters to the soldiers to help boost morale. Al was so grateful for the correspondence that when he returned home, he asked her out for a date, and the romance began. The two were married at St. Stanislaus church in Chelsea in May of 1947.
Their life was one of travel and adventure as an army family. Their homes included all four states where the children were born (New Jersey, Texas, New York, and Washington), plus Kansas, Maryland, Kentucky, Florida, and two tours of duty in Germany. Adele was a model army wife. She not only moved four children across the country multiple times but ensured that they were enrolled in their new schools, sports, ballet, ceramics, cheerleading, scouting, and more. She also single-handedly cared for the family while Al was stationed in Korea and Thailand for a year each.
She was a very creative person, who took classes in Asian cooking, cake decorating, flower arrangement and painting, made beautiful ceramics which are family treasures to this day, and made gorgeous clothes for herself and her children. She also sang in the choirs of the Catholic Churches she belonged to over the years.
She and Al both loved to travel, and visited (among other places) France, Italy, Spain, Majorca, England, Mexico, Canada, Poland, and Lithuania. After Al retired from the Army after 34 years, he took a job at the University of Miami student health center, while Adele worked as administrative assistant to the Dean of International Studies at Miami Dade College. They fully retired to Homestead, Florida, and eventually Viera, Florida.
She was blessed to have a long life filled with family, friends, laughter and love. She will forever be remembered by all those she touched over her lifetime, and we will miss the positive outlook she had until the very end, in spite of her dementia. Donations in Adele’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Foundation, Catholic Charities, USA, or the National Military Family Association are greatly appreciated.
Aunt Adele was a wonderful woman. It is sad we didn’t see her and Uncle Al enough since we lived so far from them most of the time. She will be greatly missed. But heaven has a new and beautiful angel.