JOLIET, Ill. – Luella V. Grotton, 82, died Jan. 18, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the Gerstenberg Hospice Center following a long illness. Luella was born Dec. 5, 1923, in Caribou to Miles and Gertrude (Driscoll) MacDougal, the second of four children and the only daughter. Her father was a farmer in those days; he later worked for Gulf Oil Corporation where he transferred frequently to other cities, including Ellsworth and Quincy, Mass. Luella and her older brother, Miles, attended high school in Ellsworth where he graduated in 1940. Luella was a graduate of North Quincy High School in 1942. While two of her brothers fought in the South Pacific during World War II, Luella supported them and her country by helping to build ships at the Fore River Naval Shipyard in Quincy. Her brother Miles became a pilot with the Army Air Corps and was killed in action in the South Pacific in 1944. Luella married Malcolm Reynolds in 1943, and following the war, she raised two children in Quincy. She worked for Grossman and Sons for several years as a legal secretary and later met her second husband through that company. She married Charles S. Grotton in 1963 and moved to his home in Brewer. She and Charles wintered in Boca Raton, Fla. for several years. She was employed by the Boca Raton News where she found great pleasure working for a newspaper organization. Luella and her mother moved to Hamden, Conn. in 1979, where they could be near to family and good medical facilities, as her mother’s health began to fail. Luella worked for and retired from the Southern New England Telephone in New Haven, Conn. and following retirement, she moved to Joliet, Ill. in 1992, where she made her home with her son. Luella and her daughter spent many happy days at the local “boat” casino in Joliet and later took several cruises to destinations in the Caribbean. A hard worker and loving, loyal caregiver, Luella put others first and was always generous and thoughtful. She was a very good, creative writer with a strong command of the English language, as evidenced by her interesting letters and her mastery of crossword puzzles. As a measure of her character, she faced her terminal cancer with grace, grit and good humor that was an inspiration to those around her. She is survived by a son, Robert Reynolds of Joliet, Ill. with whom she resided; a daughter, Martha Friedman, wife of Dr. Robert J. Friedman, of Joliet, Ill. and Lake Worth, Fla.; two grandsons, Steven Friedman of Joliet, Ill. and Kenneth Friedman of Lockport, Ill.; two brothers, Gary MacDougal of Fort Myers, Fla. and Lamoine, and Maurice MacDougal of Camden, S.C.; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation is 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, until time of service at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home Chapel, 3200 Black at Essington Rds., Joliet, Ill. Funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home chapel. Interment at Woodlawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Gerstenberg Hospice Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
LUELLA V. GROTTON
