Eloise Eugenia “Gene” (Cissna) Groves, 97, passed away on Monday, March 7, 2022, at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.
She was born October 8, 1924, in Chrisney, to the late Edmund Sr. and Hattie (Metz) Cissna.
She is survived by Joe, her husband of 76 years.
Joe and Eugenia married in 1945, just before Joe shipped off to serve his country in Okinawa. Eugenia supported the war effort at Republic Aviation in Evansville, supplying repair parts for P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft.
Their home of 70 years, remodeled many times, occupies a farmstead west of Chrisney that was originally her grandfather’s. Both this and their after-the-war starter home were within eyesight of her childhood home.
Eugenia was a lifelong member of Bloomfield Wesley Chapel, and she so looked forward to its 200-year anniversary in June.
She graduated from Chrisney High School in 1942 and attended Purdue University for a year. She was a homemaker and a teacher’s aide at Chrisney Elementary School for 20 years. She was an avid member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), holding several offices in the local Spier Spencer Chapter and at the state level.
Eugenia loved genealogy and local history. She researched the family tree on both sides as far back as records existed — and this was before the days of internet ancestry aides. Extended family members often expressed particular interest in her work. In 1988 she chaired the writing of the 340-page Our Hoosier Heritage: Spring Station – Chrisney Community 1865 – 1987, which chronicled businesses, churches and schools. In 2005 she and Joe were named Historians of the Year for Spencer County.
Eugenia was the proud mother of three children, Larry (Jodi) Groves, Connie Groves (deceased in 2007), and Cindy (Bill) Lonnberg. Grandchildren include Ryan (Stephanie) Groves of Indianapolis and Sam Lonnberg and Emma Lonnberg of Bloomington. Great-grandchildren include Anna Groves of Bloomington, Illinois, and Gigi Groves of Indianapolis.
In addition to her parents, Eugenia was preceded in death by three older siblings, Ruby, Edmund Jr., and Ruth.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Bloomfield Wesley Chapel, 2370 W. CR. 950 N, Chrisney. Boultinghouse Funeral Home in Rockport has been entrusted with care.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to Bloomfield Wesley Chapel for a children’s education area in their fellowship hall to celebrate Eugenia’s passion for children’s development.
Friends unable to attend may leave a condolence for the family at www.BoultinghouseFuneralHome.com.
