Grewe, Chloris Roberts

82 01/06/1928 01/11/2010 Surrounded by her children, 
Chloris "Corky" Roberts Grewe died Jan. 11, 2010. Corky was 
born Jan. 6, 1928, in Cottage Grove. She was the third and 
youngest child of Clifford Earl and Pearl Cordelia Roberts. As 
a child during the Depression, the times required the family to 
move to Grants Pass to live on her maternal grandparents' 
farm. Following the Depression, the family returned to 
Cottage Grove. She attended Cottage Grove Union High 
School where she was a cheerleader, the band's baton twirler 
and graduated as the class valedictorian in 1945. Corky was 
the first member of her family to pursue higher education. 
She graduated from the Good Samaritan School of Nursing in 
Portland and Oregon State College (now Oregon State 
University). She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She 
met her future husband, Dr. Ray Grewe, at Good Samaritan 
Hospital. The elevator was stuck between two floors, and 
petite Corky was able to squeeze through the small opening 
and was clever enough to catch Ray's eye. While single, 
Corky became a stewardess for United Air Lines. As a nurse, 
she leapfrogged to the plum assignments because overseas 
flights required a registered nurse on board for medical 
safety. Miss Roberts was selected to fly the Los Angeles-
Honolulu route before Hawaii was a state. Ray was serving in 
a U.S. military medical unit in Korea at the time. They married 
in 1953, after he returned. Because she was married, Corky's 
flight career was ended and her motherhood career was about 
to begin. She and Ray had six children from 1954 through 
1962. Despite her busy home life, Corky somehow managed 
to participate in numerous community activities. She was very 
involved with Clipped Wings (United Air Lines Stewardess 
Alumnae, Inc.). In 1971, she was the chairwoman for the 
Clipped Wings National Convention in Portland. People still 
quote parts of her keynote address at Timberline Lodge, when 
she brought the house down with funny stories about herself, 
family life and flying. Her humor was legendary. Corky also 
found time to volunteer with Special Olympics, prepare meals 
at Blanchet House, serve on the Altar Guild of Trinity 
Episcopal Cathedral, be a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for 
her children, and serve as PTA president. Later she returned to 
school to update her nursing credentials and worked as a 
school nurse. She welcomed Anne-Marie to the fold as a 
year-long foreign exchange student from Belgium during 
1971 and 1972. Despite her lighthearted disposition, Corky 
was an empathetic, selfless woman of serious purpose. Family 
was her life. She was convinced that a good home filled with 
laughter and love would heal most of the world's ills. She was 
eternally grateful for her own good fortune, and felt obligated 
to give back to those who were not so blessed. In 1975 she 
was given the Francis Jacobs Woman of the Year Award from 
the Multnomah Association for Retarded Citizens for 
dedicated service to her favorite cause. Life in the Grewe 
family was noisy, chaotic and happy. The house was filled 
with laughing children, their antics, and their dogs, cats, 
hamsters, fish, chickens, guinea pigs, mice, turtles, chipmunks 
and even a housebroken, electrical cord-chewing male rabbit 
named Sally. Corky managed it all with relative calm and 
grace and made it look effortless and fun. She was clearly the 
loudest fan at any of her children's sporting events. She was 
"Momma Grewe" to all her kids' friends, and they all became 
part of the extended family. Corky Grewe is survived by her 
children, Kathy, Scott, Kent, Nancy, Lorrie and Todd and their 
spouses; 13 grandchildren; and Willy the Wonder Dog. She 
was predeceased by her husband, Ray, in 2008. Please share 
your stories of Corky by email to corkymemory@gmail.com 
or by post mail to P.O. Box 103, Underwood, WA 98651. A 
memorial service for Corky Grewe will be held at 2 p.m. 
Saturday Jan. 30, 2010, in Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 147 
N.W. 19th Ave., Portland. Remembran ces may be made to 
ARC of Multnomah-Clackamas, 619 S.W. 11th Ave., Suite 106, 
Portland, OR 97205, or online at www.thearcmult.org.

Published in The Oregonian from January 24 to January 28, 
2010