Yvonne Alene Gronberg, 76, of Payson, Utah, passed away on October 3, 2020. Yvonne was born on March 13, 1944 in Los Angeles, California to Ivan Emanuel and Luane Roderick Anderson. She eventually became big sister to four brothers. She graduated from Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, California in June of 1962. She went on to receive her B.S. from California State University, Los Angeles in June of 1969.
Yvonne met Bill Gronberg in 1965 with the help of her aunt and his older sister. Three months later, after a romantic evening at the laundromat, he asked her to marry him. They were married in the Los Angeles Temple on September 9, 1966. Together they were blessed with four daughters.
Yvonne was a firm believer in education. She and Bill filled their home with good books and lots of maps. She taught Special Education for one year in California, then was self-employed as a tutor in Utah. She encouraged and supported her daughters’ development of their talents. She also volunteered with Friends of the Library in Payson, where she was sometimes the Story Lady. Yvonne would make time for her grandchildren to attend “Grandma School” in her home where she would help them with letters, reading, and music. She loved to read and share the positive things she learned with everyone.
The phrase that best represents Yvonne’s approach to life is “Love One Another.” She loved to meet new people, catch up with friends, and stay in touch with everyone. Family was very important. She was the driving force to take her family to many reunions in Idaho and Utah, and also organized Anderson and Gronberg gatherings. She attended as many recitals, performances, and award ceremonies as she could.
Many people felt she was a very good friend and she would “adopt” those that needed a kind mother or grandmother in their life. Children loved her, especially her large doll house and her flip-and-fold fashion dolls. She had many scraps of fabric for her young friends to choose from when designing fashionable outfits. After her own girls had outgrown such playthings, neighborhood children would often knock on the door and ask, “Can your mom play?” Later she shared her toys with her granddaughters and graciously accepted when the grandsons preferred playing with grandpa.
She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served several service missions with Bill, helping in the Senior MTC in Provo and the Church Employment Office in Springville. They also worked together in the Family History Center in Payson. She served in the 17th Ward Young Womens when her daughters were teens and then bravely accepted a call to teach Cub Scouts. Her boy-wrangling skills were a bit rusty by that point in her life, yet she did her best. She was heard to wonder out loud about why “Boys like to fall off their chairs.” Later she served in the Relief Society as a music leader and helped recognize the birthdays of the sisters in the ward. She also served as a ward missionary and volunteered in the Provo and Payson temples through the years.
She battled health issues but took care of herself with grace. She was very supportive of Bill’s need to travel around the U.S. and even around the world. Memorable family trips include traveling around the western states in the big yellow bus, driving to New York state in the blue van in 1991, then driving to Alaska the next year! Bill and Yvonne flew to Hawaii, Maine, Quebec, Iceland, Germany, and Japan. They also traveled to Georgia many times to visit their second daughter, Ginger, and her family. She was always happy to come home to Payson, where Lisa, Louise, and Genise and grandchildren lived close by.
Yvonne was an amateur Ham Radio operator with the call letters of KC7YIF. It was suggested that the Y.I.F. stood for “Yvonne Is Fantastic.”
In December 2018, Yvonne experienced heart failure while returning from Hawaii on a cruise. She recovered from it, but that event seemed to herald a change in her attitude and behavior as months passed. Eventually, she was diagnosed with frontal-temporal dementia and her health and strength continued to deteriorate.
Yvonne is survived by three brothers, her husband, four daughters, three sons-in-law, ten grandchildren, one grandson-in-law, and one great-grandchild, with another on the way.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Roderick.
A viewing will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 from 6-8 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home, 587 South 100 West, Payson, Utah, Another viewing will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2020 from 10-10:45 a.m. at the funeral home. Funeral service will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be at the Springville Evergreen Cemetery. Family and close friends are welcome to come to the cemetery after the service, where there will be opportunities to share personal stories.
