Teresa Baker never met her grandfather, Steven Surofchek, who was aboard the submarine USS Grunion when it mysteriously disappeared in 1942.

She never knew how he died, or his final resting place, along with the submarine's 69 other crewmembers.

All of that changed two years ago, when sonar images depicting a smooth, oblong object off the coast of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska emerged.

A year later, a search team led by the sons of the submarine's lieutenant commander, Mannert "Jim" Abele, found the vessel, which had been missing for more than 65 years.

"It was so exciting to see the story unfold," said Baker, who moved to Lahaina, Maui, from Anderson, S.C., in January. "I never knew my grandfather and neither did my mom, but it's been a very good thing for my grandmother," she said. "She was so happy and so excited. She had that sparkle in her eye again."

Baker's grandmother, Caroline Surofchek Colson, is 91 years old and lives in South Carolina. She has since remarried, but has never forgotten Steven, who was a cook aboard the sub.

The USS Grunion docked at Pearl Harbor for 10 days in June 1942 before heading toward Midway Island and the Aleutian Islands. After reporting heavy activity near Kiska Island, the sub was never heard from again. This month marks the 66th anniversary of the vessel's sinking.

"For a long time, my grandmother said she expected him to just walk through the door," Baker said. "They were just classified as lost at sea, but none of the men ever showed up anywhere."

The recent discovery has given the family a sense of closure that they have long desired, Baker said.

The same can be said for 69 other families across the United States, thanks to the help of the Abele brothers and three women known as the "sub ladies," who have worked tirelessly to locate and contact the families of the Grunion crew. Baker's grandmother is one of three surviving widows of the crewmen.

Mary Bentz of Bethesda, Md., whose uncle was aboard the Grunion, said the last of the families was notified in August last year, on the same day that the submarine was discovered.

"It's been a major effort to contact all the families, but it is sure worth it because every single family has been so appreciative," she said.

Bruce Abele, 78, described the experience as an "emotional swing" for all the families involved. Abele's father, Mannert, disappeared when Bruce was just 12 years old, leaving behind his wife and two other young sons.

"After receiving the telegram on Sept. 30, 1942, I remember my mother sitting down and taking the time to handwrite a condolence letter to every next of kin," he said.

Now that the Grunion has been discovered and the families of its crewmen united, copies of those letters have found their way back into Abele's hands, he said.

Baker's grandmother still has the condolence letter she received, along with other letters she received from Steven while he was away. Baker had never seen those letters before the Grunion was discovered.

"These were things my grandmother had dear to her that she was keeping for herself," she said. "They were just hers."

"If you want to get a feel for what World War II was like, read those letters," Abele said. "You can't read them with a dry eye."

Bentz, who has spoken with most of the families by phone, said she has grown close to many of them. She hopes to meet the families during a memorial service to be held in Cleveland at the USS Cod Submarine Memorial in October.

"Telling the crewmen's story is a way to pay tribute to them, and each article written about them serves as a proper obituary," she said. "After so many years, we're finally putting them to rest."

The August 2006 expedition that produced the original sonar images was financed by the Abele brothers, who hired the geophysical consulting firm Williamson & Associates for the task.

In August 2007, a crew returned to the site off Kiska Island with more than 37,000 pounds of equipment. A remotely operated vehicle was able to capture three hours of video footage of the vessel, located exactly where the team had predicted it would be. The precision of the ship's location and its physical details are proof that it is the Grunion, Bruce Abele said.

As they await official confirmation from the Navy that the Grunion has been found, Abele and a team of researchers are looking to discover what caused the submarine to sink.

They hope that memorial exhibits will spring up at navy museums across the nation, including the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum in Honolulu.