Wanda Lee (Everhart) Grosser

SALINA - Wanda Lee (Everhart) Grosser, 92, passed away on February 21, 2022 at Salina Presbyterian Manor.

Born on September 1, 1926, at her parent’s farm south of Gypsum, KS, Wanda was the daughter of Lloyd and Elsie (Rutz) Everhart.  The youngest of six siblings, Wanda had four brothers and one sister.  She married her high school sweetheart, Jack Lay, also of Gypsum, and they had three sons.  Jack was killed in the Korean conflict in 1952, leaving Wanda a widow with three young boys ages 3, 2 and 3 months.  On July 21, 1956, she married William F. Grosser III (Bill) and they made their home in Salina.  She and Bill welcomed a daughter in 1957.

Wanda attended Gypsum public schools, graduating from high school in 1947.  She briefly attended Marymount College, before marrying and becoming a mother.  She loved running a household and taking care of her family.    

With her children grown, Wanda satisfied the need to serve others by working as a hostess and secretary at the Salina Senior Center.  She shared her talents until her retirement in her late 60’s.  She had a passion for genealogy, spending many years researching and publishing her family’s ancestry.  She and Bill traveled the area searching for gravestones and municipal records to verify their family tree.   Wanda had many relatives in the area; she loved planning and hosting family events, including the annual Everhart family reunion that started in the 1970s and continues to this day.  Wanda was a faithful Christian, attending and volunteering in the Episcopal Church all of her adult life.  

Wanda and Bill built a new home on Millview Rd. in 1965.  They lived there for over 45 years before moving to Eaglecrest and eventually to Salina Presbyterian Manor in 2015.  

She was preceded in death by her husband William (Bill) F. Grosser III, parents Lloyd and Elsie Everhart, brothers Verlin Everhart, Lyal Everhart, Wendall Everhart and Merl Everhart, sister Eileen Hathaway, two grandchildren, Jess Grosser and Robyn Grosser, and her first husband Jack E. Lay.

Survivors include her four children, Keith Lay (Jeanne), of Albuquerque, NM; Dr. Randy Grosser (Linda), of Indianapolis, IN; Craig Grosser (Susan), of Salina, KS; and Lori Rhoden, of Niles, KS; 18 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.  

A memorial service is planned for 10:00AM on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at Christ Cathedral, 138 S. Eighth Street, Salina, KS; graveside service will follow at Gypsum, KS Cemetery, south of Hwy K-4 and Kipp Road.

The family would like to give special recognition to the staff at Salina Presbyterian Manor and Kindred Hospice for their kind and loving care.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Salina Presbyterian Manor Employee Christmas Fund, in care of Salina Presbyterian Manor, 2601 E. Crawford St., Salina, KS 67401 (Please designate “Employee Christmas Fund”) or the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank, 255 S Chicago, Salina, KS 67401.

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