April 23, 1947 - June 29, 2020
Norea Gruber was born Norea Gayle Campbell in Evansville, Indiana on April 23rd, 1947. She moved to Florida with her family when she was a year old and grew up in St. Petersburg, off of Haines Road. She graduated from Northeast High School with her lifelong friend, Barbara McGinnis (Babs). Norea was very social and fun-loving. She and Babs loved to go dancing at various halls, and they used to go downtown to the movie theater on Saturdays. Norea loved scary movies especially.
During the period of time that she was married to Dan Gruber, they owned the Copy House and Gruber’s Lawn Service in Pinellas Park, FL. She was a parishioner, Eucharistic minister, and Sunday school teacher of Sacred Heart Church. Norea loved hosting get-togethers at her home. She was an avid baker and would make at least 8 differently flavored pies and 12 dozen cookies with the “help” of her children each holiday. They spent the majority of the time “helping” by eating the cookies faster that she could bake them. In fact, sometimes her sons would fight over the apple pies, running through the neighborhood until one of them would outlast the others and eat the whole pie himself. Everyone, including family, friends, and fellow parishioners were invited to stop by, celebrate, and taste her pies and cookies. In fact, in her generosity, she had an open-door policy year-round; the door was literally unlocked all the time. Friends of her children practically lived at the Gruber house. She loved all of their friends like they were her own children and would feed them before they went back to their homes.
In 2014, Norea moved into Pinellas Heights Senior Apartments, where she was very friendly and forged very strong relationships with other tenants. She loved to play bingo, specifically musical bingo. She always had a smile on her face and greeted everyone who passed her by in the hallway, no matter what kind of a mood she was in. She was always looking out for the maintenance men. Whenever she heard one of them walking by her apartment, she’d call out to them, “what kind of chips do you want?” and offer them something to drink as well. She loved to make large batches of chili and share with people around the apartment complex, and she had friends on every floor of the building.
Norea Gruber is survived by her seven children, (Christina, Lisa, Tony, Randy, Brian, Jason, and Angela) twelve grandchildren and five great grandchildren that she always lovingly described as “yours, mine, and ours” when explaining her family’s dynamic to others. She was the graceful, loving, and guiding matriarch that brought a household of children together as a family. Norea had a unique ability to make each person feel like he or she was the single most important person on earth at that moment. What’s more is that she lived her life for her children, grandchildren, and friends. Rather than fighting for the spotlight, she worked behind the scenes, celebrating all of their successes and filling their lives with joy and love.
Arrangements were made under the direction of Garden Sanctuary Funeral Home 7950 131st Street N., Seminole, FL 33776 / 727-391-0121.
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