Winifred Grengs

Winifred Grengs, of Canby, Minnesota, is survived by her 5 children: Jan (Wendy) Grengs, Jon (Cathy) Grengs, Rebecca Grengs-Manriquez, Jo Ann (Lonnie) Adamic, Cathy (Gleaves) Beard; 15 grandchildren: (children of Jan and Wendy) Joshua, Bryan, Michael, Amy and Kara; (children Jon and Cathy) Renee, Tamara, Nathan and Eric, (children of Rebecca) Maria, Michaelanne, Melanie, (children of Cathy and Gleaves) Kayli; 9 great grandchildren: Derrel, Joseph, Georgie, Cash, Sienna, Colby, Chace, Aaron and Ryan; and sister, Arla Samuel. Preceded in death by grandchildren Daniel Victor Manriquez, Matthew Aaron Grengs.

Memorial donations suggested to the Denver Hospice or American Cancer Society Relay for Life.

Winifred Jane was born in Canby Minnesota in 1927 to Victor and Mabel Thompson. Ten years later, she welcomed her baby sister Arla. Winifred started her life on a farm and went to a one room school house. Her children always loved hearing stories about that school house and how they would heat lunches on the pot-bellied stove, or how she was so smart that she took two grades at a time and also the stories she would tell about her mischievous younger sister.
During WWII, her family moved to Seattle where she went to high school. She also worked at Boeing, making airplanes and loved living in a port city where she could watch all the sailors come in. She thought they were all quite handsome in their uniforms.
After high school, she moved back to Canby where she later married Norbert Grengs and had three beautiful children, twin sons Jan and Jon in 1947 and daughter Rebecca in 1949. After moving back and forth from Minnesota and Washington, they settled in Denver, Colorado where she had two more daughters, Jo Ann in 1963 and Cathy in 1964. Many grandchildren and great grandchildren followed.
In Colorado she worked at Denver Dry Goods where she worked as a supervisor in the gift wrap and shipping department. She retired when The Denver closed in April of 1987.
Winifred has always been a dedicated, loving and caring person and the best mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She passed on traditions of dumplings, potato salad, goulash and treats like "bread, milk, cinnamon and sugar." She reinvented patty-cake and was a strong believer in the power of prayer. Most importantly, she believed in family and that is the legacy she has left; faith, love and family.