Agnes Helen Grote

Agnes (“Pegee”) Grote died peacefully at home on March 19th, 2022. Pegee was born on the 3rd of August in 1922 in Elizabeth(port), NJ. She spent her early childhood & high school years growing up in the Bayway section of Elizabeth where her mother Martha (Horbaly) ran a small grocery/butcher shop & her father, George Kravec, worked for Standard Oil (later Esso/Exxon/Exxon-Mobil).

When the Great Depression hit, her father lost his job at the oil refinery & the family bought a farm in Pittstown, NJ (which is now a historic site in the National Registry) so he & his wife could support their 8 children. Pegee was 7 years old when the family headed to the farm in Hunterdon County. Those early years on the farm were the favorite & most formative years of her life. But life on the farm was not without tragedy. Pegee’s childhood was checkered with tribulation overpowered by perseverance. Her father would die at age 42 when Pegee was just 10. Two short years later, her mother would die at age 42 when Pegee was just 12 years old. The family stayed on the farm for several more years as the orphaned Pegee & her younger sister Dolly were raised by an older sister & brother, as each of the siblings contributed to the running of the farm.

When Pegee was in her teens the family sold the farm and would return to Elizabeth where Pegee would graduate from Battin High School in 1940. Pegee then matriculated at Arcadia University (then Beaver College), but after 2 years her college career was cut short when World War II broke out & she left school to work at Standard Oil to help support the family. It was at Standard Oil she would meet her future husband Walter Grote. She raised her 2 sons in Scotch Plains where she was active at the Willow Grove Presbyterian Church. In the 1980's, Pegee & Walter would move to Lions Head South in Brick, NJ where both were active in the Brick Presbyterian Church & Lions Head South entertainment productions. In 2011 the couple headed to Independent Living at Bristol Glen in Newton, NJ. Her husband Walter died in 2013 & after his death, until recently, Pegee was a resident of Assisted Living at Bristol Glen.

In addition to her husband of 63 years, Pegee was predeceased by her sisters Marie & Martha Kravec, Betty Poline & Dorothy Jeffers; & by her brothers Peter, George, William (& his son “BG”) & Michael Kravec. In addition to many nieces & nephews she loved dearly, she is survived by her sons Stewart & his wife Missy & their children Morgan & Michael and Walter, his wife Debbie, & children Skylar, Brielle, & Luke Grote & his wife Ale, Mary Willsie, her husband Phil & their children, Olive, Harvey, & Mac, Michael Banda & his wife Brittany, Vanessa Ulmer & her children Emma & Gavin, Eric Banda & his wife April & their children Kody, Tyler, Olivia & Max.

The family would welcome donations to either: Kid’s Peace, St Jude Children’s Hospital, the Salvation Army, the Bristol Glen Fellowship Fund, or a charity of your choice.

Those who knew Pegee will forever remember Pegee’s cheerful smile, pleasant demeanor, & frank assessments which, on occasion, were too frank.

A celebration of her near 100 years of life will be held 7pm Thursday April 7, 2022 at Bristol Glen Chapel, 200 Bristol Glen Drive Newton, NJ for friends of Pegee and friends of Pegee's family with Rev. Carl Bannister officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of the Smith-McCracken funeral Home - 63 High St. Newton, NJ. Online condolences may be made to www.SmithMcCrackenFuneralHome.com