Adah Gruver

Died

November 2, 1924 - December 28, 2018 It is with sadness that we announce the death of Adah Gruver. Daughter of Alex and Anna Coropoff, and sister to Ruth (Williams) and Morris, Adah grew up in San Pedro, California. Following graduation from San Pedro High School (1942), she became a Registered Nurse (LA Community Hospital School of Nursing, 1946), subsequently receiving her BA in Public Health from California State University, Northridge (1965). In 1946 Adah married cartoonist, Bernard Gruver (divorced, 1975). They had four children: Jean (deceased), Clifford (deceased), Nancy, and Allison, and lived in Van Nuys. In 1983 Adah immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to be closer to Nancy, son-in-law, Steve Van Wagoner, and their family, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1986. The family later moved to Hantsport, Nova Scotia, near the Bay of Funday before crossing the country to Kamloops, British Columbia in 2006 where she spent her final years. Adah was a fiercely compassionate humanitarian which motivated her contributions in nursing, and in her volunteer work. Known as 'Nurse Mom,' she was a school nurse with the LA School District (ret. 1982); working longest at Gardner Street Elementary School, Theodore Roosevelt High School, and Birmingham High School, providing a safe haven for all "her kids." She took a leave of absence from the schools to work in Pima County, Arizona, as a public health nurse with VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) (1975-77). In Canada, she was an oncology nurse at the Victoria General Hospital (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (ret. 1985). Always politically active, Adah was a founding member of the United Teachers of L.A., volunteered with the New Democratic Party, CanGo Grannies, Kamloops SPCA, and marched in more protests than she cared to remember. Adah was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, an avid reader, and world traveler. She died from leukemia at home in the arms of her daughters. She leaves her daughters, Nancy Gruver Van Wagoner (Steve) and Allison Kaplan (David); five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; and her extended family. She will be remembered for her energy, honesty, generosity, sharp mind, quick wit, and brilliant sense of humour. Adah believed that her legacy was in her family which truly included many good friends. The secret of life, she said, was to "live it," and that she did-in spades. She will be missed. A celebration of her life will be held on April 27, 2:00 PM, at the Hal Rogers Activity Centre, Kamloops. Adah would like to be remembered with memorial contributions to the Kamloops SPCA (https://spca.bc.ca/locations/kamloops/), the Kamloops YMCA-YWCA (https://www.kamloopsy.org/y-strong-kids.htm), or another deed or donation that makes the world a better place.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Published on: 06-04-2019