| Honored by: | John H. Greve |
| Brick location: | C:2 map |
Edna Viola Thuenen (pronounced "TEE-nen")
Nov. 10, 1905 - July 18, 2005
The Thuenens came to the U.S. from the state of Nieder Sachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany, in the middle 1800's and settled in Davenport, IA. Henry Thuenen, Sr. was a wheelwright in Davenport and his son, Henry, Jr. was a prominent lawyer there. In 1900 Henry, Jr. was elected as a Representative from Scott County to the 28th General Assembly of Iowa. In 1905, Edna became the 6th and last child of Emma (Neumiller) and Henry Thuenen, Jr.
Edna (nicknamed "Teeny" because of her family name) and her family enjoyed summers camping on Campbell Island in the Mississippi River, where she learned to swim and to row a boat. She graduated from Davenport High and then from Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) in library science.
After marrying John W. Greve (native of Rock Island, IL) in Pittsburgh, PA in 1933, she made a career of homemaking. Edna and John W. produced 3 children (John Henry, Carolyn Jean, and Doris Diane). The family grew up in Cleveland, OH and Birmingham, MI before Edna and John W. retired to Cape Coral, FL. After several years in Florida, her husband suffered a debilitating stroke. She tried mightily to care for her wheelchair-bound husband alone, because that is what she expected of herself, but assistance was necessary, so the couple moved to Ames, IA to be close to their son and daughter-in-law (John H. and Sally Doane Greve).
Edna was a kind, cheerful, and gentle person who was a good role model for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. During World War II, she never turned a drifter away, instead giving him a snack of a peanut-butter sandwich and a glass of milk. Her mother, Emma, had taught her that people may suffer misfortune through no fault of their own. This sharing trait has filtered down through generations after Edna.
In later years, Edna often remarked how amazing it is that she grew up watching horse-drawn wagons moving up the hill in front of her house in Davenport and lived to see fast cars, TV, and men walking on the moon!
Edna was a Republican, inveterate crossworder, canny bridge player, an Episcopalian, and proud of her Iowa and German heritages.
Her cremains are inurned in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens, Fort Myers, FL.
Submitted 6/20/1994; updated 10/23/2013