52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 42

 Week 42:

The theme for Week 42 is “Fire.” Whether as a source of warmth, power, or destruction, everyone’s life has been impacted by fire. This week, consider an ancestor who worked with fire or whose life (or records!) was impacted by it. 


Panzie Marie Gross 

Born: 21 Jul 1913 Newberry, York, Pennsylvania

Died: 23 Feb 1997 Etters, York, Pennsylvania

Grandaunt 

I was born in 1994 and my Aunt Panzie died in 1997, so I don't have many memories of her. I remember her sitting in her designated easy chair (I've discovered that most elderly people have a designated chair at some point) in my grandpa's house. She and my grandpa, Clair Gross, were siblings. They were both single and shared their childhood home. 

Panzie never married or had children. In her last years of life, she suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, and my grandpa was her caretaker. 

Panzie attended Lewisberry High School as a teenager and was a member of the track team, literary society, and acted in school plays. She went on to be a board member for Paddletown Church's Sunday School Committee. She was also President of the Newberry Township Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary. 

She lived her entire life within walking distance of the Newberry Township Fire Department. She spent her adult life in service to others, volunteering her time and money to causes that she believed in.

Since this week's prompt was about fire I thought it was a good time to highlight Panzie's work with the local fire department. 









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