Obituary of William Thomas Grumbine

William “Bill” Thomas Grumbine Sr., 83, of Tobyhanna, died Friday, Jan. 19, 2018 at his home.

A native of West Lawn, born April 2, 1934, he was the only son of the late Arthur W. and Ruth (Williams) Grumbine. Bill was the only grandson of William T. and Georgia (Britton) Williams. The Williams family lived in The Ironmasters Mansion, also known as “The Big House” at the “Swatara Furnace/Forge” location near Outwood from 1921 until 1961.

Bill attended the Outwood country school twice, for three months in 1943, and five months in 1946. He then went on to five years at the Pine Grove High School. He graduated in 1952 from Sayreville High School in Sayreville, New Jersey, and then attended West Virginia University for three years, where he met his wife of 60 years, Mary Luvern (Allman) Grumbine. Before marriage, Bill spent two years in Co. C, 709th Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division, and then married July 20, 1957, in Nutterfort, West Virginia. He worked odd jobs for about two years, and then he and his family moved to Mount Pocono, where he was employed as a professional photographer for six years. Bill then spent 35 years as an electronics repairman for the Department of Defense at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Tobyhanna.

Bill was a member of the Pine Grove, Lebanon, Monroe County, and Coolbaugh Township historic societies, and also the Tobyhanna United Methodist Church, NRA, Sierra Club, Sons of Confederate Veterans, NARFE and ASPCA.

Bill and Mary Luvern have two sons, William Grumbine Jr. of Kutztown, and John L. Grumbine of Altoona; four granddaughters: Greta, Sarah, Emily and Ruth; and also two great-granddaughters and four great-grandsons.

Friends and family may gather from 11 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday, Jan. 27, at Bolock Funeral Home, 6148 Paradise Valley Road, Cresco. A memorial service will be held at noon Saturday at the funeral home. Bill joined the Outwood Lutheran Church in the mid 1940s; he will be laid to rest privately in the Outwood Lutheran Church Cemetery, where his mother, father and seven other members of his family, and many of his classmates, and friends from the Outwood and Suedberg area, now rest.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Coolbaugh Township Historical Society, P.O. Box 244, 5590 Municipal Drive, Tobyhanna, PA 18466.