Darla Dee Grosklags
Darla Dee Grosklags will always be remembered as a generous, caring and patient lady by those who knew her. At the age of 76, Darla was taken from us on September 3, 2015.
A Celebration of Life Service for Darla will be Sunday, September 13 at 2:00pm with visitation from 12:30-2:00pm, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 833 S. Marschall Road, Shakopee, MN. A reception will follow. Interment will be at Dawn Valley Cemetery, Bloomington, MN. Darla’s grandchildren will be her pallbearers.
Darla was born on March 10, 1939 in Cedar Rapids, IA to parents, Delmar and Eleanor (Brown) Rogers. She was the oldest of three siblings. At a young age, she and her family moved from Cedar Rapids, IA to Bloomington, MN. She and her family had a special love for raising and training collies. Not to be outdone by the collies, she also had a pet raccoon.
In high school, she was active in speech and debate, the honor society and writing poems, some which were published in the Bloomington Sun newspaper. Also in high school, Darla was the feature editor of the school newspaper and yearbook. She was a 1957 graduate of Bloomington high school and attended the University of Minnesota. She was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.
Out of high school, she and her friends would hang out by the old Met Stadium and race cars for fun. After winning a race, a young man by the name of Richard Grosklags was quite impressed. He not only thought she was a good driver, but saw that she was a beautiful lady. From that night, their court ship started and soon after they were married on June 6, 1959 in Richfield, MN. From that reunion they were blessed with three boys, Brett, Bart and Jon.
During high school, she worked as a secretary at her family’s business at United Steel Products Company, Inc. She remained there, holding many positions and ending up as Sr. Vice President of Finance and serving as Secretary/Treasurer on the board of directors of the Company. She remained there until her family sold the business in 1998.
When the kids were young, Darla and Dick would load the kids up, and take camping trips to Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota. In her later years, Darla and Dick enjoyed wintering in the Florida Keys and taking trips to Alaska and the Panama Canal. Going to their cabin in Orr and Lake Vermilion was special to her as she enjoyed boating, four wheeling and nature watching.
Darla enjoyed country line dancing, sewing, downhill skiing, four wheeling, snowmobiling, doing decoupage and was a collector of dolls.
Left to honor Darla’s life and mourn her death are her husband, Richard “Dick” Grosklags; children, Brett Grosklags, Bart Grosklags, Jon (Lori) Grosklags; grandchildren, Kristina, Travis, Hayley, Amanda, Dylan, Jason, Rachel; brother, Richard (Betty) Rogers.
Welcoming her to heaven are her parents, Delmar and Eleanor Rogers; infant brother, Shane Rogers.
Serving Darla’s family with honor, care and compassion is Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation, Shakopee Chapel. 952-445-1202. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com
