James Gronefeld

Gronefeld

James Richard Gronefeld, 77 of Villa Hills died Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Jim was a retired meat packer, local #7, he served briefly in the United States Naval Reserves, and he was an inductee in The Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Jim was an amateur boxer with the Cincinnati Fenwick Club in the 1950s. He was the Light Heavyweight Cincinnati Golden Gloves Champion from 1951 to 1956. His overall amateur record was 50 wins, 14 losses. During his amateur boxing career, Jim was named "Outstanding Boxer" at the Polio Punch Bowl, a benefit held for infantile paralysis. Jim's dream of becoming a professional fighter ended abruptly when he learned that he had a heart murmur in the late 1950S. Jim's love of the sport and his ambitious spirit were unaffected. He co-founded Mid-West Boxing in the early 1980s with the goal of helping to train young fighters. Jim was a 1952 graduate of Newport Catholic High School, where he was a starting member of the football team on both offense and defense. As a student at Newport Catholic, Jim excelled in history, which remained a life-long passion. Jim was a member of the Erlanger Police Auxiliary in the 1970s and he was a parishioner at Saint Henry Church. He was a member of the Foresters and the Holy Name Society. Jim gave the "gift of life" by being a tissue donor upon his death. He is survived by his daughter, Terri Williams of Florence, sons Jim Gronefeld of Cincinnati and David Gronefeld of Walton, and his brother, Paul Gronefeld of Erlanger. Jim leaves behind five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by daughter, Vicki Lynn Gronefeld and son, Kenneth Victor Gronefeld. Jim's Memorial Service and Mass will be held 9:00 a.m., Thursday, December 1, at St. Henry Church, Erlanger. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital for Leukemia Research.