Naomi Ann Gross

Naomi Ann Gross arrived to this world on April 5, 1927. She was the second youngest daughter of Henri Schmitz and Mary (Kramer) Schmitz. She was born on a farm just south of Westphalia, Iowa. Her father was a farmer and her mother ran the household. Naomi's earliest memory was her grandmother giving her a half a banana to eat when she was three years old. She also remembers going to Harlan on Saturday nights to the theater and soda fountain while her mother shopped for the family and her father made sure all was right at the Westside. Naomi suffered with everyone else through the Great Depression and the hot and dry conditions of the mid 1930's which taught her to be frugal and to help those in need. When Naomi was only five or six years old, she endured the loss of her younger sister, Jeannie, from diptheria. She remembered clearly a day before Jeannie's death Jeannie said that she was going to have a new mother.
Naomi attended school at St. Boniface Catholic School in Westphalia, Iowa, and graduated high school as the salutatorian of her class in 1944 at the age of 17. She also had the lead role in the Senior play. Only three years after graduating, she met her lifelong partner and man of her dreams at a dance in Defiance. Marcus Gross Sr. and Naomi were married on September 10, 1947, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Westphalia, Iowa. After marriage, they moved to Omaha where Marcus was employed as an auto mechanic. Their first child, Patrick, arrived in 1948 and soon thereafter, they moved to Defiance where Marcus had purchased an old dance hall to open his own shop. Sharon and Donald arrived in succession. Naomi and Marcus then moved to a farm outside of Earling, Iowa, where they lived until January, 1960, where Douglas, Terry, William and Eugene were born. They then moved to an acreage on the north edge of Defiance, Iowa, where Nancy, Marcus, Jr. and Jack were born. In between all of the bread making, canning, cooking and cleaning, Naomi always made time to play ball with her children. She was proud that, when she pitched, her children dubbed her "Warren Spahn". In 1991, Naomi and Marcus moved to Harlan after Marcus retired for a third time.
Naomi's faith unquestionably guided her in her day to day activities. She never missed Sunday mass and devoutly prayed her daily Novena. She instilled her faith in her children and grandchildren. Naomi also taught her children the value of hard work, honesty, education and humility. She truly enjoyed gardening, the weather, playing cards with family and friends, crossword puzzles and sports, especially St. Louis Cardinals baseball and watching Catlin Clark play Iowa basketball. Naomi never stopped learning and looked forward to visiting with her grandchildren and learning about their lives. Naomi is an inspiration to and an aspiration for all of us.
Naomi passed away peacefully at Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan, Iowa, on January 28, 2024, at the age of 96 years, 298 days after a brief illness. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.