Fern Grams

Funeral service for lifetime resident Fern V. Grams will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at the First Presbyterian Church in Gillette, Wyoming with Pastors Joel Wright and Peggy Brown officiating. Burial will follow at the Mount Pisgah Cemetery.Visitation will be from 3-6 p.m. on Monday, January 22, 2007 at the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel and also one hour prior to the service on Tuesday at the church.Mrs. Grams, age 87, passed away on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette of natural causes.Fern V. Grams was born on the family homestead south of Gillette Wyoming on August 11, 1919 the daughter of George and Sibyl (Johnson) Vanderheyden. Mrs. Grams attended McKay School in rural Campbell County and graduated in 1938 as valedictorian from Campbell County High School. After graduation Fern worked as a secretary for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. It was here that she met Lewis Grams. Fern attended one year of college at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. Fern and Lewis were married in Sheridan, Wyoming on December 27, 1940. Prior to starting their family, Fern was a secretary for the Campbell County High School. Fern enjoyed her homemaking and raising her family and during that time she gave private piano and organ lessons for over thirty years. Fern was an accomplished organist and played for many funerals and weddings. In her retirement years she enjoyed traveling, including several international destinations. Fern?s favorite pastimes included doing crossword puzzles and watching and feeding the birds at the home where she lived for over sixty years. Mrs. Grams was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. She taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, played the organ and served as deacon and elder. Mrs. Grams was a charter member of the Stitch and Skillet Homemakers Club and also a member of the Rebekkah Lodge.Fern is survived by her three sons, Howard (Pat) Grams of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Allen (Betty) Grams of Severn , Maryland and Norman Grams of Gillette, Wyoming, one daughter, Marilyn Grams who resides in Sheridan, Wyoming and Billings, Montana, three brothers, Bert Vanderheyden and Merl Vanderheyden of Chula Vista, California and John Vanderheyden of El Cajon, California, and six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Lewis in 1990, and one sister, Helen Smith. A memorial has been established in Fern?s name to benefit the music or piano fund at the First Presbyterian Church in Gillette, Wyoming. Memorials and condolences may be sent to the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home, 210 West 5th St. Gillette, Wyoming 82716 or via the internet at www.stevensonwilson.com.