Gruling Family Playground now open at Agra Pavilion

On Sept. 25, 2024, an official ceremony and ribbon cutting was held at the new Gruling Family Playground located next to the Agra Pavilion at Rotary Park near the River Bend Trail in Merrill. Members of the Gruling family gathered to share a few words and thank Dan Wendorf at the Merrill Parks and Recreation Department and the City of Merrill for helping them honor their parents with the addition of the new playground, named in honor of their parents, Bob and Eppie Gruling, who were longtime Merrill residents and died in 2018 and 2023, respectively.

Representatives from the City of Merrill, including Mayor Steve Hass, and staff and ambassadors from the Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce were also in attendance to conduct the ribbon cutting. Tim Gruling, one of the four children of Robert “Bob” Gruling and Eppie Gruling and a resident of Merrill, said this park was a dream-come-true for their parents, who had long wished for a playground in the location so that children would have something to do during events held at the Agra Pavilion. All of Bob and Eppie’s children - Mary Beth Robinson of Wausau, Robert John “BJ” Gruling” of Whitefish Bay, Tim Gruling of Merrill, and Kay Gruling of Wausau - were in attendance for the occasion. Some of Bob and Eppie’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren also attended.
Bob Gruling, who was born and raised in nearby Hamburg and the youngest of 20 children, graduated from Athens High School in 1949 and then went on to become a teacher in Merrill, teaching at the former Franklin Elementary School (beginning in 1953), the former Pine River Elementary School (as both teacher and principal), and then serving as principal at both the former Lincoln and Washington Schools in town.

Esther “Eppie” (Schulz) Gruling, a lifelong Merrill resident, was born in Merrill, twin sister to Edna, and also the youngest child - but of “only” nine children. She graduated from Merrill High School in 1951.

Bob and Eppie met in 1950 at a wedding dance, courted for five years, married in 1955 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Merrill, and then raised their family on Merrill’s west side. While Eppie worked a number of jobs over the years, including as an administrative assistant at the Merrill Ranger Station, her greatest joy was being a wife and mother and staying home during her children’s young years to raise her family. The couple cherished 63 years of marriage together before Bob passed away at age 87 in 2018; Eppie died at age 90 in 2023.

The Gruling family provided the funding for the playground and its installation as a gift to the community in memory of their parents. They broke ground on the project on June 11 with their extended family in attendance, after which they laid Bob and Eppie’s ashes to rest - together - in a private family gathering at the cemetery.

Both Bob and Eppie were very active in the Merrill community and beyond, and beloved members of the community during their lifetimes. And both loved children.

With four of their own, seven grandchildren, and more than a dozen great-grandchildren, their family legacy will live on.

It is their children and family’s hope that with the addition of the Gruling Family Playground, that legacy will also live on in Merrill - the community they both so loved and enjoyed throughout their lifetime together - and that their memories will be honored through the sound of the laughter of the children who enjoy this playground for many years to come.