Elissa "Lisa" M. Gronke, born August 6, 1936, Chicago, Illinois, passed away June 30, 2012, Milwaukie, Oregon. Lisa was preceded in death by her sister, Laurel. She is survived by her brother, Emil Metterhausen, two nephews, Eric and Fred, niece, Teala, loving husband, Ed, children, Deborah, Edward Jr., Paul, Thomas and 9 grandchildren.
Lisa was always a woman ahead of her time, earning a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and pursuing a career in the era when women were expected to stay at home and care for the family while their husbands supported them. Of solid Norwegian and German stock, Lisa was also persistent (Ed sometimes called that stubborn) and persuaded him to let her return to school after the birth of her fourth child to complete her degree. This turned out to be best for her and for her entire family, resulting in four children wise in the ways of the world and not afraid to be self-reliant as well as a husband who recognized the value of women in the workplace (when that was not a popular idea). In later years, the income from her career as a research biochemist helped the family graduate all four children from one public and three different private universities relatively debt-free, as much of an accomplishment then as it is now.
Many friends will recall Lisa's days working in the Physics Department at Reed College, where she was instrumental in encouraging renowned Professor Emeritus David Griffiths to apply for his position. Lisa's last position was at OHSU as a researcher in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab in the mid-1980's. This followed her previous work in the Department of Neurology. Her research in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab gradually shifted to computer science. She learned with co-worker, Terry Larkin as they supported the lab's data collection and storage on a cluster of Apple II computers, lab equipment with proprietary data and output formats, a shared hard drive and printers. Work to port existing programs on other platforms to CP/M on the Apple opened a doorway into programming classes, retrieving information via early computers networks, and troubleshooting dial-up hardware and software used to access those networks. In the day of Ma Bell, metered long-distance (which included a call between Gresham and Beaverton), art and science were necessary for 2400-baud dial-up modems to connect reliably and exchange information without breaking the bank. Finding a local phone number for an answering modem on a service with wider connection was a never-ending pursuit. Her introduction to computer hobbyists led her to a world of local computer bulletin boards - standalone, special-interest, and early networked bulletin boards which led to FidoNet. Her work with the Portland boards from 1986 through the late 1990's when computer bulletin boards mostly disappeared with the rise of reliable consumer internet connectivity. She was unusual in this world of geeks as a female over 50, and was known as "Grandma Nerd." The social side of this world ranged from the banal to criminal - from boards supporting accounting software user groups to Northkeep in the Society for Creative Anachronism, gay dating boards and even a board fencing stolen goods. It isn't different from today's subcultures on the Internet, but Lisa worked hard to infiltrate and track the activity of all these social groups, to a point of obsession. She frequently woke in the middle of the night to dial-up, skim, print, and download. Thousands of 5-1/4 inch floppies resulted from these sessions - all recorded on an Apple IIe. Her many friendships endured throughout her retirement.
A woman of many talents and interests, she took up bird watching after the family had moved from the Chicago area to Houston where she worked and studied at M.D. Anderson Medical Center. This hobby accompanied her when the family moved to suburban New York and eventually to the Portland area in 1977, where she declared this a "birdwatcher's paradise." She developed her cooking skills based on her scientific training, reducing the art of pies to a system of careful measurements and tests, producing pie crusts still fondly remembered by her children. Family meals were always a highlight of the day. She was vital part of the life of her close-knit family and will be sorely missed. Her like doesn't come along very often
Lisa was always a woman ahead of her time, earning a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and pursuing a career in the era when women were expected to stay at home and care for the family while their husbands supported them. Of solid Norwegian and German stock, Lisa was also persistent (Ed sometimes called that stubborn) and persuaded him to let her return to school after the birth of her fourth child to complete her degree. This turned out to be best for her and for her entire family, resulting in four children wise in the ways of the world and not afraid to be self-reliant as well as a husband who recognized the value of women in the workplace (when that was not a popular idea). In later years, the income from her career as a research biochemist helped the family graduate all four children from one public and three different private universities relatively debt-free, as much of an accomplishment then as it is now.
Many friends will recall Lisa's days working in the Physics Department at Reed College, where she was instrumental in encouraging renowned Professor Emeritus David Griffiths to apply for his position. Lisa's last position was at OHSU as a researcher in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab in the mid-1980's. This followed her previous work in the Department of Neurology. Her research in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab gradually shifted to computer science. She learned with co-worker, Terry Larkin as they supported the lab's data collection and storage on a cluster of Apple II computers, lab equipment with proprietary data and output formats, a shared hard drive and printers. Work to port existing programs on other platforms to CP/M on the Apple opened a doorway into programming classes, retrieving information via early computers networks, and troubleshooting dial-up hardware and software used to access those networks. In the day of Ma Bell, metered long-distance (which included a call between Gresham and Beaverton), art and science were necessary for 2400-baud dial-up modems to connect reliably and exchange information without breaking the bank. Finding a local phone number for an answering modem on a service with wider connection was a never-ending pursuit. Her introduction to computer hobbyists led her to a world of local computer bulletin boards - standalone, special-interest, and early networked bulletin boards which led to FidoNet. Her work with the Portland boards from 1986 through the late 1990's when computer bulletin boards mostly disappeared with the rise of reliable consumer internet connectivity. She was unusual in this world of geeks as a female over 50, and was known as "Grandma Nerd." The social side of this world ranged from the banal to criminal - from boards supporting accounting software user groups to Northkeep in the Society for Creative Anachronism, gay dating boards and even a board fencing stolen goods. It isn't different from today's subcultures on the Internet, but Lisa worked hard to infiltrate and track the activity of all these social groups, to a point of obsession. She frequently woke in the middle of the night to dial-up, skim, print, and download. Thousands of 5-1/4 inch floppies resulted from these sessions - all recorded on an Apple IIe. Her many friendships endured throughout her retirement.
A woman of many talents and interests, she took up bird watching after the family had moved from the Chicago area to Houston where she worked and studied at M.D. Anderson Medical Center. This hobby accompanied her when the family moved to suburban New York and eventually to the Portland area in 1977, where she declared this a "birdwatcher's paradise." She developed her cooking skills based on her scientific training, reducing the art of pies to a system of careful measurements and tests, producing pie crusts still fondly remembered by her children. Family meals were always a highlight of the day. She was vital part of the life of her close-knit family and will be sorely missed. Her like doesn't come along very often
Elissa "Lisa" M. Gronke, born August 6, 1936, Chicago, Illinois, passed away June 30, 2012, Milwaukie, Oregon. Lisa was preceded in death by her sister, Laurel. She is survived by her brother, Emil Metterhausen, two nephews, Eric and Fred, niece, Teala, loving husband, Ed, children, Deborah, Edward Jr., Paul, Thomas and 9 grandchildren.
Lisa was always a woman ahead of her time, earning a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and pursuing a career in the era when women were expected to stay at home and care for the family while their husbands supported them. Of solid Norwegian and German stock, Lisa was also persistent (Ed sometimes called that stubborn) and persuaded him to let her return to school after the birth of her fourth child to complete her degree. This turned out to be best for her and for her entire family, resulting in four children wise in the ways of the world and not afraid to be self-reliant as well as a husband who recognized the value of women in the workplace (when that was not a popular idea). In later years, the income from her career as a research biochemist helped the family graduate all four children from one public and three different private universities relatively debt-free, as much of an accomplishment then as it is now.
Many friends will recall Lisa's days working in the Physics Department at Reed College, where she was instrumental in encouraging renowned Professor Emeritus David Griffiths to apply for his position. Lisa's last position was at OHSU as a researcher in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab in the mid-1980's. This followed her previous work in the Department of Neurology. Her research in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab gradually shifted to computer science. She learned with co-worker, Terry Larkin as they supported the lab's data collection and storage on a cluster of Apple II computers, lab equipment with proprietary data and output formats, a shared hard drive and printers. Work to port existing programs on other platforms to CP/M on the Apple opened a doorway into programming classes, retrieving information via early computers networks, and troubleshooting dial-up hardware and software used to access those networks. In the day of Ma Bell, metered long-distance (which included a call between Gresham and Beaverton), art and science were necessary for 2400-baud dial-up modems to connect reliably and exchange information without breaking the bank. Finding a local phone number for an answering modem on a service with wider connection was a never-ending pursuit. Her introduction to computer hobbyists led her to a world of local computer bulletin boards - standalone, special-interest, and early networked bulletin boards which led to FidoNet. Her work with the Portland boards from 1986 through the late 1990's when computer bulletin boards mostly disappeared with the rise of reliable consumer internet connectivity. She was unusual in this world of geeks as a female over 50, and was known as "Grandma Nerd." The social side of this world ranged from the banal to criminal - from boards supporting accounting software user groups to Northkeep in the Society for Creative Anachronism, gay dating boards and even a board fencing stolen goods. It isn't different from today's subcultures on the Internet, but Lisa worked hard to infiltrate and track the activity of all these social groups, to a point of obsession. She frequently woke in the middle of the night to dial-up, skim, print, and download. Thousands of 5-1/4 inch floppies resulted from these sessions - all recorded on an Apple IIe. Her many friendships endured throughout her retirement.
A woman of many talents and interests, she took up bird watching after the family had moved from the Chicago area to Houston where she worked and studied at M.D. Anderson Medical Center. This hobby accompanied her when the family moved to suburban New York and eventually to the Portland area in 1977, where she declared this a "birdwatcher's paradise." She developed her cooking skills based on her scientific training, reducing the art of pies to a system of careful measurements and tests, producing pie crusts still fondly remembered by her children. Family meals were always a highlight of the day. She was vital part of the life of her close-knit family and will be sorely missed. Her like doesn't come along very often
Lisa was always a woman ahead of her time, earning a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and pursuing a career in the era when women were expected to stay at home and care for the family while their husbands supported them. Of solid Norwegian and German stock, Lisa was also persistent (Ed sometimes called that stubborn) and persuaded him to let her return to school after the birth of her fourth child to complete her degree. This turned out to be best for her and for her entire family, resulting in four children wise in the ways of the world and not afraid to be self-reliant as well as a husband who recognized the value of women in the workplace (when that was not a popular idea). In later years, the income from her career as a research biochemist helped the family graduate all four children from one public and three different private universities relatively debt-free, as much of an accomplishment then as it is now.
Many friends will recall Lisa's days working in the Physics Department at Reed College, where she was instrumental in encouraging renowned Professor Emeritus David Griffiths to apply for his position. Lisa's last position was at OHSU as a researcher in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab in the mid-1980's. This followed her previous work in the Department of Neurology. Her research in the Pediatric Metabolic Lab gradually shifted to computer science. She learned with co-worker, Terry Larkin as they supported the lab's data collection and storage on a cluster of Apple II computers, lab equipment with proprietary data and output formats, a shared hard drive and printers. Work to port existing programs on other platforms to CP/M on the Apple opened a doorway into programming classes, retrieving information via early computers networks, and troubleshooting dial-up hardware and software used to access those networks. In the day of Ma Bell, metered long-distance (which included a call between Gresham and Beaverton), art and science were necessary for 2400-baud dial-up modems to connect reliably and exchange information without breaking the bank. Finding a local phone number for an answering modem on a service with wider connection was a never-ending pursuit. Her introduction to computer hobbyists led her to a world of local computer bulletin boards - standalone, special-interest, and early networked bulletin boards which led to FidoNet. Her work with the Portland boards from 1986 through the late 1990's when computer bulletin boards mostly disappeared with the rise of reliable consumer internet connectivity. She was unusual in this world of geeks as a female over 50, and was known as "Grandma Nerd." The social side of this world ranged from the banal to criminal - from boards supporting accounting software user groups to Northkeep in the Society for Creative Anachronism, gay dating boards and even a board fencing stolen goods. It isn't different from today's subcultures on the Internet, but Lisa worked hard to infiltrate and track the activity of all these social groups, to a point of obsession. She frequently woke in the middle of the night to dial-up, skim, print, and download. Thousands of 5-1/4 inch floppies resulted from these sessions - all recorded on an Apple IIe. Her many friendships endured throughout her retirement.
A woman of many talents and interests, she took up bird watching after the family had moved from the Chicago area to Houston where she worked and studied at M.D. Anderson Medical Center. This hobby accompanied her when the family moved to suburban New York and eventually to the Portland area in 1977, where she declared this a "birdwatcher's paradise." She developed her cooking skills based on her scientific training, reducing the art of pies to a system of careful measurements and tests, producing pie crusts still fondly remembered by her children. Family meals were always a highlight of the day. She was vital part of the life of her close-knit family and will be sorely missed. Her like doesn't come along very often
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