September 2012, Vol. 67 No. 9
Newsline
In Memoriam: Charles John Groebner; Carl Vander Turnage; P.E. “Duck” Brantley
Charles John Groebner, Sr., the founder and chairman of Groebner & Associates Inc., passed away on June 26 due to complications related to a recent surgery. He was 82 years old.
In 1952, Groebner began his career with General Corporation as a supplier to the utility industry selling in-home incinerators and natural gas conversion burners. In the early 1960’s, he started working for J.H. Fagan Company, a distributor of gas appliances and related accessories.
He went on to start Groebner & Associates in 1976 as a manufacturer’s representative for several product lines that would soon be recognized as the leading gas utility material supplier in the Midwest. Today, the company has three stocking locations and supplies materials to more than 100 gas utilities and gas distribution contractors in a 17 state area.
For more than 40 years, Groebner was active in many industry trade associations including the Distribution Contractors Association, American Gas Association and American Public Gas Association. He was very involved with the Midwest Energy Association (MEA), and served on several committees and ultimately the board of directors. In 2002, he was inducted into and became an inaugural member of MEA’s Hall of Fame.
Groebner is survived by his wife, Betty; daughters, Dianne (Tony) Novak and Jane Covart; sons, Stephen (Kay), Timothy (Jody), Charles Jr. (Teri), and Joseph (Barb); and nine grandchildren.
Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America at www.alz.org.
Carl Vander Turnage, 68, passed away on July 31 at his residence in Aberdeen, MS. As a lifelong resident of Aberdeen, Turnage attended Aberdeen schools and graduated from Columbia Military Academy. He attended the University of Mississippi, worked as pipeline engineer for Enterprise Pipeline, and was a member of First United Methodist Church in Aberdeen.
He leaves two daughters, Tessa Ashe Turnage Nelson and husband, John, and Caroline Virginia Turnage; three brothers, and five nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
P.E. “Duck” Brantley, 71, of Monroe, LA, died July 14. Brantley served as superintendent for Price Gregory International. He also was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; daughter Kristy (Rufus Stewart); and two siblings.
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