Obituaries

William Leslie Gruber Bill Gruber, age 88 of Plain, passed away peacefully in his home on November 22, 2023. He was born March 5, 1935, the fifth of 10 children born to William and Christine Gruber. After graduating from Spring Green High School in 1954, Bill went to work for his brothers at Gruber Brothers Cheese. He was drafted and served in the Army from 1958-1960. When he returned home, he worked for Wisconsin Power and Light as part of their surveying crew and then as a crane operator for Ed Kraemer and Sons. In 1968, he returned to work with his brothers at Gruber Brothers Dairy. In 1975, he partnered with his brother Floyd and sister-in-law Lois to purchase Gruber Cheese, Inc. In 1981, he again partnered with Floyd and Lois to open Muscoda Protein Products in collaboration with Stanley and Phyllis Meister and Florian and Dorothy Frank. He retired in 1990 after selling Gruber Cheese to Grande Cheese. Bill found time for fun and could light up the room with his contagious smile. He traveled regularly and was especially fond of bus trips to Branson. He also loved riding motorcycles, flying his airplane, and driving his collection of 13 old cars. He enjoyed giving rides in his airplane and cars. You could often see him driving around town with one car and another one a bit later. He was a regular attendee at local baseball games and a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was known throughout town as the house that gave out cheese curds on Halloween. Bill was active in St. Luke’s Catholic Church and the community. From 1996-2007, he was the Village of Plain president and served on several boards. He had the great pleasure of traveling to Waldmunchen, Germany, representing Plain. Waldmunchen is an unofficial sister city where many Plain families originated from in the 1800s. In 2001, he married Shirley Tally. He loved joining her family and becoming a grandfather to Jon and Amy. They purchased a summer getaway at Jellystone and delighted in hosting family and friends. Bill is survived by his wife Shirley, her children Barb (Ken) Tiedt of Madison, David (Kathy) Hagen of Dodgeville; brother-in-law Larry Tally; grandchildren Jon (Danielle) Tiedt and their son Shane of Marshall, Amy (Grant) Witcraft and their daughter May of Black River Falls; his brother Floyd (Lois) Gruber of Sauk City; sister Carol (Dave) Lins of Plain; his sisters-in-law Rita Gruber of Green Bay and Delores Gruber of Plain; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Christine; brothers and sisters-in-law, Harold (Jeanne), Cyril (Laureen) LaVerne, Gene, Sam, Leslie; sister Lorraine; father-in-law Reuben Tally and sister-in-law Karen Tally. A Mass of Christian burial was held at 11 am on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at Saint Luke’s Catholic Church, 1240 Nachreiner Avenue, Plain, with family burial in the church cemetery where military graveside rights were conducted by the Plain American Legion Post #398.  In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift can be donated to St. Luke’s School or the Plain Library. The family would like to thank Dr. Collins, Tammy Alt, and the Agrace and Brightstart teams for the compassionate care shown to Bill and Shirley during this time. Online condolences available at www.staffordfuneralhomes.com  The Richardson-Stafford Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements.