Saying Goodbye To A Friend
Anna M. GREMER, Age 106, passed away on November 14, 2023, in Saint Paul, MN. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert, and survived by nieces Diane Myers and Helen Maline, nephew Gary Kane, and many friends.
A long-time member of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church. Funeral Service Friday, December 1, 11:00 am (Visitation 10:00-11:00), at SIMPLE TRADITIONS BY BRADSHAW, 671 Snelling Ave. S, St. Paul. Interment at Calvary Cemetery. Memorials preferred to Catholic Charities or Friends & Co.
Livestream of Service:
https://boxcast.tv/channel/anna-gremer-service-livestream-z1tiojnogevcdoyu3hyx
Love triumphs over loneliness
Occasionally, when Bob Gremer feels mischievous, he pretends to answer the phone and tells his fiancée Anna Lamb that there’s a phone call for her. She answers the phone, only to find out that there’s no one on the line.
“He pulls tricks on me!” Anna says and proceeds to tell us about several practical jokes Bob has played on her over the two years they have been engaged. This couple shows us that new love is playful, no matter how old you are. Bob will be 83 this May, and Anna’s age is not public information.
Bob and Anna met at a Little Brothers–Friends of the Elderly Thanksgiving meal in 2006. They happened to be seated at the same table but at opposite ends. “I had my eye on him,” she said. So, Anna got up, walked to the other end of the table, put her hand on Bob’s shoulder, and wished him a happy Thanksgiving. Bob turned, looked Anna right in the eye, and gave Anna his card, saying, “Call me.”
“Let him call me,” Anna harrumphed to herself. Before the event ended, the volunteer who had driven Bob to the Thanksgiving dinner gathered Anna’s contact information. Bob called three days later. “And we’ve been talking ever since,” Anna said, smiling. Six months later, they were engaged.
Anna remembers attending LBFE functions with Bob before they began dating. “He looked so lonesome when our volunteer driver would drop him off at his front steps,” Anna said sadly. “And, I was so lonely, too. Being lonely is a terrible thing.”
Bob and Anna aren’t lonely anymore. Even though they keep separate residences, they do almost everything together. Neither of them ever dreamed that their individual experiences with LBFE would lead them to each other. Anna is from Pennsylvania, and Bob is from Illinois, and neither moved to Minnesota until they were adults. Anna moved here after her husband died, where she knew only a niece.
“Little Brothers means a lot to me. They’ve been like a family,” Anna said. She has been a Little Brothers client since 2002 or so. Bob has been involved with Little Brothers for the past 20 years as a volunteer, donor, and now a client.
Anna summed it up by saying, “I love Little Brothers almost as much as I love this wonderful man beside me.”
Thank you, Anna and Bob, for all the great memories and for proving to us that love, smiles, and laughter triumph over loneliness!
