Calvin Heber Grotepas, 69, of Salt Lake City, died peacefully Saturday morning in Bountiful, Utah at Lakeview Hospita
l. He was born to the late Roelof and Magdalene Mount Grotepas on July 23, 1943 in Salt Lake City. Calvin graduated from West High School. He went on to the University of Utah where he studied art and was just a few credits shy of graduating. While attending the U of U he met and married Sally Anderson on September 5, 1969 in the Manti LDS Temple. They later divorced.
For much of his life, Calvin ran presses for publishing companies, including the Deseret Press and Horizon Press. He loved art and printing. Later in life, he worked exclusively on his pottery, developing and honing his skill until it culminated in the beautiful, organic hand-built vases that many see as his crowning work. These vases were partially created as a result of a debilitating muscle condition that made work on the wheel impossible.
Calvin loved his family very much and during his final days, expressed immense gratitude and concern for the people who had loved and influenced him, including his daughters and their husbands, his sister, his nieces and nephews, and Rona and Bill Terberg of Farmington, Utah. His daughters wish to express their love and gratitude for those patient people who never forgot the roots of their friendship with Calvin.
Calvin is survived by five daughters: Sara Raquel “Kelly” Crockett of Farmington; Aimee Danielle Sanders (Jason) of Littleton, Colorado; Nicole Antoinette White (Stoker) of Lehi; Anjanette Marx (Nathan) of Clinton; and Cassi Brielle Grotepas of Omaha. He is also survived by ten grandchildren.
Services will be held Thursday, March 28, 2013, at 3:00 pm at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road where a viewing will be held, 2-2:45 p.m. prior to services. Calvin’s final resting place will be in the Salt Lake City cemetery near his late parents.
This is a very nice obituary. I greatly admire this family for their love & devotion to Calvin in his illness of the last several years. Please accept our sympathy.
To the 5 lovely Grotepas Girls~ Calvin and Sally made five excellent, intelligent, high-performing daughters. Although it is difficult to understand why things happen the way they do, you girls have shown love, caring, compassion, and even forgiveness beyond measure. This isn’t at all surprising to anyone who knows you.
Many creative people live lives of ‘ups and downs’ with certain amounts of suffering, and sometimes, it all seems to fall on one person in the family. The Grotepas Girls were as understanding and perceptive as anyone could have been of their father under the circumstances.
Bill & I witnessed many changes in Calvin over the years, some easy to witness, but most very arduous and challenging to observe. As the years went on and Cal experienced pain, frustration, and loss of functioning, we saw that any bitterness or disappointment that previously vexed him had just drained away and was replaced by love and understanding. He possessed a peace at the end that many people long for but never achieve . His heart was turned from the things of the world and only to those whom he loved. He was very proud of his daughters and extremely gratified by his adorable grandchildren.
Bill & I will remember Calvin for the love he had for his family and for the brave way he lived the last very constricting years of his life. Now he can rest from his cares and sorrows.
Our love and admiration to all of you! Bill & Rona
Thank you so much, Christy! And thank you for your support. You’re amazing!
Rona, thank you for your kind words. You and Bill have been the most amazing examples of love, charity, and loyalty that I have ever seen. It was good to watch my dad grow and change in the last years of his life and I’m so thankful to you and Bill for how you never gave up on my dad. I honestly can hardly believe it.
As well, Anji and Nathan were so patient and inspiring in how much they did for him while the rest of us were out of state. I’m full of gratitude for all the people who were kind to him.
I feel strongly that my dad is now free to run, ski, and do some wheel-throwing in heaven. I’m glad he’s no longer suffering. I look forward to seeing him again someday. 🙂