Denice Watje

Mary Denice Griffin Watje, daughter of Dennis and Edna Griffin, was born at rural Buck Grove, Iowa, on June 4, 1920. She passed away surrounded by her loving family Thursday, May 24, 2018, at the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, Iowa, at the age of ninety-seven.
She received her education in Buck Grove and graduated from Denison High School in 1938. Denice taught school for two and one-half years prior to her marriage to Otto Watje November 23, 1940, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Buck Grove, Iowa. They resided on a farm near Buck Grove and were the parents of a son, Donald, and daughter, Kathleen.
Denice enjoyed golfing and was a member of the Dunlap Golf Club and was a lifetime member of the Sunshine Club. She was very active at St. Joseph, St. Mary and St. Rose churches, where she worked at Bingo for St. Rose, was a prayer partner and was a room mother at school. One of her fondest memories was when she took a trip to Ireland to visit relatives. Denice was an excellent seamstress and cook, often making four different meals for her grandchildren. She enjoyed dancing, gardening – both vegetable and flowers, and socializing with family and friends.
Denice was preceded in death by her husband, Otto; daughter, Kathleen; two infant sons; an infant daughter; three brothers: Lawrence and his wife, Florence, Joe and Clem; sister, Eileen and her husband, Glen; and brother-in-law,John. Survivors include: her son, Donald; daughter-in-law, Mary; son-in-law, Ronald; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; sister, Theresa; sister-in-law, Betty; nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends