Obituary of Josef Christian Gross

Josef, beloved husband, father, opa, and great opa, passed away peacefully following a brief illness, on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at the age of 88 years. He was predeceased by his parents Peter and Magdalena; sisters, Mary Heidt and Kunigunde Baumann; and brother-in-law Hans Heidt. Josef is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Edith Gross; sons, George (Francine) of Regina/Bahamas and Joseph (Linda) of Regina; daughter Heidi (Andrew Priddell) of Regina; grandchildren, Jeffery (Jasmine), Shannon (Jon) Young, Shane (Anita), Danielle, Justin, Kyle, and Calvin; great-grandchildren, Austin, Wyatt, and Paisley; brother Peter (Ursula); brother-in-law Hans Baumann; as well as many nieces and nephews. Josef cared greatly about his family and friends. He was humble, kind, generous, funny, and a true gentleman. Josef was intelligent, loving, and carried in him a truly beautiful spirit. He loved our planet earth and devoted most of his life making the areas he touched more beautiful and truly green. While working full time, he graduated number one in his class at Guelph University in Horticulture. Josef was never one to boast, but was very proud of his contributions, as a professional horticulturalist and City of Regina Parks Manager, to various projects, such as Victoria Park, Wascana Park, city golf courses, the family cottage at Island View, and homes of many family and friends. After immigrating to Canada in 1952 from Ukraine, he was very appreciative of all the opportunities Canada had to offer. Josef and Edith enjoyed many winter vacations in Hawaii and other warm locations, but Canada was always his favourite place. A Time to Celebrate Josef’s Life will be held at Speers Funeral Chapel, 2136 College Avenue, Regina, SK on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Interment will be held at Riverside Memorial Park, 815 Assiniboine Avenue, Regina, SK on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Please meet inside the cemetery gate. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Josef may be made to the Alzheimer’s Society of Saskatchewan, 301 – 2550 12th Avenue, Regina, SK S4P 3X1. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.speersfuneralchapel.com <iframe id="funeral_recording_player_512x460" src="http://webcast.funeralrecording.com/events/embed_viewer/12574" width="512" height="524" scrolling="no" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>