Grace I Polk, 98, of Oshkosh passed away Saturday afternoon, November 26, 2016 at the Regional West Garden County Hospital in Oshkosh.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, December 3, 2016 at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Oshkosh with Father Matthew Koperski officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Cemetery.
A rosary service will be held at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening at the church.
Visitation will be one hour before the rosary and mass.
Memorials in Grace’s name can be made to the family.
Holechek Funeral Home and Cremations in Oshkosh is serving the Polk family.
Grace Irene (Albee) Polk was born on October 23, 1918 on the family farm north of Oshkosh to William and Anna (Cedergren) Albee. She attended the country school and one year at Garden County High School. She then trained to be a beautician and opened her own shop in Oshkosh at the age of 17.
She married Cliff Polk in 1937 and they moved to Laramie, Wyoming where he was employed. They moved to Bridgeport in 1939 before returning to Oshkosh in 1947 where she spent the remainder of her life. She was the mother of 7 children, Cliff Jr., Peggy, Bill, Pat, Mike, Tom, and Jerry.
She returned to work as a beautician in 1954. She was active in the VFW Auxiliary for over 30 years. She was a founding member of the MNO Pinochle Club and spent many enjoyable evenings playing cards with the girls. She was very active in the St. Elizabeth’s Alter Society. She will be fondly remembered for her kind sense of humor.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1988, 3 sons, Bill, Pat and Jerry, and her siblings, Art, Fred and Burl Albee, Anne Cooper, Alice Nelson, and Dorothy Wilkinson.
She is survived by her children, Cliff and his wife, Shirley Polk of Englewood, Colorado, Peggy Cawthra of Oshkosh, Mike and his wife, Sherry Polk of North Platte, and Tom and his wife, Margaret Polk of Lincoln; 15 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Darlene Polk; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.