04/11/2019 - Alma Downen Birnbaum Gruenig

A Christian funeral mass for Alma Lorraine Downen (Birnbaum) Gruenig, age 97, will be at 10:30 AM on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at St. Therese Catholic Church in Rapid City, SD with Father Bill Zandri officiating.

Burial will follow at 1:30 PM at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.

Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 with a 6:30 PM wake service at St. Therese Catholic Church in Rapid City.

A memorial has been established for St. Therese Catholic Church.

Alma passed away on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at Good Samaritan-St. Martin Village. She was born on May 1, 1921 in Fairburn, SD to Lewis and Margret (Sievers) Downen. She grew up on the family ranch west of Fairburn with her brothers Wendle, Warren, and Maynard. During that time, Alma saw Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, and later on, Ronald Reagan. She saw the Strato Bowl balloon flights and witnessed the carving of Mt. Rushmore. She graduated from Fairburn High School in 1938, attended business college in Mitchell, SD and IBM school in Minneapolis, MN, and worked as a IBM key punch operator in Igloo, SD.

Alma married Lawrence Birnbaum in 1943. Born to that union were six sons, Bill, Mike, Jim, Pat, Terry, and Bruce. Alma worked at Magnetic Peripherals and also 16 years at K-Mart.

Alma married Lester Gruenig on October 15, 1976. They traveled all over the U.S., attending 30 national bowling tournaments. She was inducted into the SD Bowling Hall of Fame. Alma and Lester moved to Fall City, WA for 13 years. After Lester passed away on March 4, 1996, she returned to Rapid City SD. She bowled until she was almost 90 years old.

Alma enjoyed many trips to Deadwood with special friend Ted Waterson.

Alma is survived by sons Mike (Sarah) Birnbaum of Rapid City, SD, Jim Birnbaum of Scottsdale, AZ, Pat (Lee) Birnbaum of Bellingham, WA, and Terry (Jenny) Birnbaum of Chadron, NE; stepdaughter Patty Jackson of Rapid City, SD; brother Maynard Downen of Fairburn; three granddaughters; two step-grandsons; four great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Lester, sons Bill and Bruce Birnbaum, brothers Wendle and Warren Downen, and special friend Ted Waterson.