Thelma A. Grudda

Born – February 15, 1929, in West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Illinois to Henrietta Zelda Gambrell and Emory Boyd Gambrell. When Thelma was a baby, her family moved to Westmont, Illinois, and her brother, Albert Boyd, was born 2 years later. She first attended a 2-room schoolhouse with a potbelly stove and no indoor plumbing. During first grade, her family moved to Downers Grove, Illinois, where she lived until college. Growing up she enjoyed board games like checkers, playing baseball, riding her bicycle, roller skating, and sledding in the winter.

Life in the Depression was hard, so her parents raised chickens and had a garden. An important part of her childhood and teen years was attending the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. In fourth grade, she came to understand what it meant to put her faith and trust in Jesus, and she was discipled in her faith by godly men and women at her church. During her teen years, her youth group often went into Chicago to pass out tracts and to hold services at the Rescue Mission. She attended Downers Grove High School, where she enjoyed singing in the choir and graduated in 1947.

After High School, she went to Nyack Missionary Training Institute in New York to study Christian education and sang in a trio called the Gospel Notes. During her first year, she met her husband-to-be, August Grudda. They dated during college and were engaged in 1949. She graduated from Nyack in 1950 and on June 17, 1950, married the love of her life at her home church in Downers Grove. They lived in New York for another year before moving to the Midwest and settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

They welcomed Wayne Allen on May 6, 1951, and Anita Lynn on May 24, 1954. During their time in Milwaukee, time with extended family for celebrations was frequent, and also involvement at Redeemer Evangelical Free Church. In 1969, they moved to Arlington, Texas due to Thelma’s arthritis and the need for a warmer climate. They joined Pantego Bible Church, and she enjoyed Women’s Ministry, teaching Sunday School, and singing in the choir.

In 1991, Anita married Clovis Barnett in Dallas, and she proudly became a grandmother two years later when Sarah Lynn was born. In 1992, Auggie and Thelma moved their membership to Grace Covenant Church where she was involved in the choir and Women’s Ministry.

In later years, she helped Auggie as he battled health issues, including cancer. After 69 years of faithful marriage, she was widowed in 2020. Thelma became a proud great-grandmother to Lily Anne (2023) and Jackson Robert (2025) and lived in Arlington until 2025 when she moved to Weatherford for more care.

Visits from her family, and especially her great-grandbabies, brought immense joy in her later months. She passed away peacefully on June 14, 2026, with her family near her. Thelma leaves a strong legacy of faith and family.