Gracka M. Gerardi Gruis of Bradenton, FL, lost her 2 year, hard fought battle with cancer on September 19, 2025. She was born in Cedar Rapids, IA, raised in Klemme, IA and lived in Wichita, KS. She attended Drake University, and her entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit guided her through multiple industries, including ownership of an antique shop and a bed and breakfast in MN, and prior to moving to Florida in 2012, the American Expresso Coffee Café in Garner, IA.
Her interests included cooking, music and art. Gracka is survived by her son, Chuck Collard (Carole Ann) of Buffalo, NY, and their two sons, Matthew and Joshua, and her grandson Max Blackledge, Sarasota, FL and Auburn, AL, her sister, Anita Gerardi Micich (Paul), Norwalk, IA and San Francisco, CA, and her nephew, Ari, of San Francisco. Gracka is predeceased by her husband, Lee E. Gruis, by her parents, Ernie and Gracka H. Gerardi of Klemme, her granddaughter, Carly Collard Cottone, and very recently by her daughter, Suzanne M. Collard of Sarasota, FL.
Over her 86 years, she called multiple cities and states home, but she has now found her eternal home. Private service. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to benefit Gracka's grandson's education at Auburn University through "gofundme.com Suzanne Collard." (Sue recently passed from pancreatic cancer.)
