Monica Groleau, 1951-2010
Monica was born September 8, 1951 in Auburn, New York, the daughter of Walter and Carol Dec. She received her education at Union Springs High School and Cayuga Community College. During high school, she was a “Candy Striper” at Mercy Hospital in Auburn.
Shortly after moving to Syracuse, she became a secretary to Onondaga County Executive, John Mulroy. During her sixteen years there, she became a member of Calvary Church in Clay, where Miss Dec met and married her friend, lover, and faithful companion, Wesley Groleau, son of Richard and RosaLee of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.
Monica left local politics in 1989 to raise two sons, Christopher and Michael. In 1995, the family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she became active in Heartland Church, as well as playing bridge regularly with a ladies’ group called Encore. In 2004, she became a retail cashier with Meijer Stores. Several of the customers became fond of her pleasant personality and service excellence, always checking out with her and recommending her to others. She was as disappointed as they were when her illness forced her to leave the job she loved in late 2008.
Monica is survived by her husband, Wesley Groleau of Fort Wayne; sons, Christopher Michael Groleau of Fort Wayne; father, Walter Dec of Auburn, New York; sister, Mary Ann Shovlowsky of Schenevus, New York; many aunts, uncles, and cousins in central New York, and in-laws in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nevada. Monica was preceded in death by her mother, Carol (Fronczek) Dec.
Services were at Heartland Church, and burial in Parker Cemetery, Fort Wayne.
Memorials may be made to the Parkview Hospice (1900 Carew Street, Suite 6, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46805) or to Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana
(http://cancer-services.org).
Written by Mary Ann Shovlowsky and Wesley Groleau.