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Edward Sam Grover 08-23-2023 © Alva Review-Courier Submitted by: Jo Aguirre
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Funeral services for Edward Sam Grover will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, August 25, 2023, at the Friends Church in Cherokee, Oklahoma, with Rev. Chuck Coulter and Rev. Dennis Halstead officiating. Interment will be in the Byron-Amorita Cemetery under the direction of Marshall Funeral Home of Alva.
Edward Sam Grover was born on February 28, 1935, to Cyril and Jetti Grover of Protection, Kansas. Ed was the fifth of six children born to Cyril and Jetti. During his early years, his dad owned and operated a hardware and farm implement business in Protection. Jetti was busy caring for and raising their six young children.
When Ed was in junior high school, Cyril moved the family to Fort Worth, Texas, where he completed two years of seminary school. After seminary school was completed, the family moved to Driftwood, Oklahoma, and his dad began as pastor of the Driftwood Baptist Church. Ed professed his faith in Jesus Christ at an early age and truly demonstrated his faith throughout his life. As the parsonage required updating to accommodate the family, the family lived in Alva for several months with Ed attending Alva High School.
Once the parsonage was ready, Ed transferred to Driftwood Public Schools where he completed high school. It was there at Driftwood High School that Ed would meet the love of his life, Carole Tucker - with a stolen kiss backstage during a high school play performance. Ed and Carole were married in 1955 at the Methodist Church in Byron and they moved to Loveland Colorado where Ed began college. After two years, they moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Ed completed his bachelor's degree at Oklahoma State University. Their first child, Bradley, was born just five days before Ed received his degree.
After graduation, Ed began his career working for the Soil Conservation Service, moving to Guymon, Oklahoma, for two years, then to Seiling, Oklahoma, for two years where a second son, Barry, was born. Shortly thereafter, Ed's position was transferred to Cherokee, Oklahoma, and he continued his work of developing the soil maps of Alfalfa County.
The next two years brought much trauma intermingled with much family and community love, as Carole and Ed lost their first-born son to cancer and a short time later, her father died an early death. Ed at that time resigned from the Soil Conservation Service to begin the next phase of his career, farming and ranching. A third child, Staci, was born to Ed and Carole in 1964. Three years later, when Carole began working on a college degree, Ed attended a year at NWOSU in Alva to attain his teaching certificate and then began teaching at Medicine Lodge, Kansas, for seven years. During those years, Ed continued to farm and run cattle on the family farm east of Byron.
After leaving Medicine Lodge, Kansas, Ed took on a new challenge of selling feed supplements for the Moormans Feed Company eventually becoming a manager over the Northwest Oklahoma area. During the next several years, Ed became the living example of multi tasking - selling feed supplements, working with his sales team of five to seven men, managing the farm while keeping Barry busy putting up hay, working the ground and feeding cattle, and somehow substitute teaching at Wakita and Carrier.
In 1980, Ed resigned from Moormans and accepted a teaching position at Medford Public Schools for all of the science curriculum from jr high to sr high, joining Carole who was teaching kindergarten at Medford. They worked as a team to impact and enhance the lives of countless children in the Medford area over the next 23 years. Ed wrote and received a grant to build an outdoor classroom for the Medford school located north across the highway from the school. In addition to prepping for six different science subjects each day, Ed also assisted Carole who would have ideas for programs and projects for her kindergarten students and Ed would make them a reality. From a large globe of the world, to a larger-than-life size space ship, to disassembling/reassembling a surrey with the fringe on top for one of Carole's kindergarten end of year productions which was always attended by the entire community.
Over the years, Ed was a prolific reader and would write numerous "articles" about his reading, his experiences, and his faith. In 2022, Ed compiled a book of his articles which was published - Life's Ponderous Adventure, Musings Of An Old Rancher. This book as Ed would describe is not a book to read as a novel, but one which contains a variety of topics, thoughts and experiences which can be selected at random, read and contemplated for a time. Please note, if you want to know the real story of Ed Grover, read this book.
Ed became active with the Byron Amorita Cemetery board which he chaired until just recently. When Ed was 78, he conceived a plan for a shelter at the cemetery which would serve as a structure for funeral services out of the Oklahoma wind and weather. For two years, Ed laid limestone rock and cement to make this shelter a reality. Ed and Carole were members of the Friends Church in Cherokee throughout many years while living on the farm east of Byron.
Death took his first born son early, then both of his parents, brothers, Howard and Harvey, sisters, Zela, Alma, Ruth and Martha, and then his daughter Staci at age 53 in 2017. On February 2, 2022, Carole also went to be with the Lord leaving Ed alone on the farm.
During the past year and half, the gift of playing a keyboard was given to Ed by God. Ed was able to play any hymn or song by only hearing the song. Ed began writing hymns and also songs to Carole, both the music and the words that God gave him. Ed played for the Sunday Services at Friends Church in Cherokee over the past year and continued to play and minister to the nurses and doctors during his final three weeks - playing his keyboard on his lap or when sitting up in a chair.
Ed is survived by his son, Barry (and Jenny) Grover of Georgetown, Kentucky, son-in-law Matthew (and Sally) Wienecke, Columbia, South Carolina, granddaughter Calli (and Paul) Erickson of Bixby, granddaughter Whitney (and Kodee) Roberts of Enid, granddaughter, Chandler Wienecke of Cherokee, grandson, Colton Wienecke of Columbia, South Carolina; great granddaughter, Adeline Roberts of Enid, great grandson, Julian Erickson of Bixby, great granddaughter, Eden Tigerlily Erickson of Bixby, plus numerous relatives, friends and many students taught by Ed.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Byron Amorita Cemetery, Gideons International or the Cherokee Food Bank.
Remembrances may be shared with the family at http://www.marshallfuneralhomes.com.
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