Obituary for William Charles "Bill" Groth
William “Bill” Groth was born on September 18, 1931 in North White Plains, NY to Estelle Donnocker Groth and William C.F. Groth. He died in Buckingham, PA on June 27, 2019 with family members present.
A 1949 graduate of White Plains High School, he received the Rensselaer Medal Award and an Indian head nickel, which his math teacher gave him for coming up with a new proof. In his Junior year of college, Bill transferred from the University of Rochester to Columbia University, probably one of the few people to enter the Ivy League in order to go home and marry their high school sweetheart.
Bill married Patricia Celley, the absolute love of his life, on June 10th, 1951, and they lived the rest of their lives in North White Plains, Clarkstown (in a cabin), and New City, NY; Pennington and Ringoes, NJ; and Newtown, PA. They had five children and opened their home to others, including children who visited them through the Fresh Air Fund.
Bill Groth’s career as an analytical chemist began when he traded his erector set to his friend Bob Bormann, for Bob’s chemistry set. Bill became a chemist and Bob, an engineer, and later they thought they should have kept their own belongings. Nevertheless, Bill put in four decades at Lederle Labs (Pearl River, NY) and American Cyanamid (Princeton, NJ). His name appears on several patents, he served as Group Leader, and he was known for painstakingly thorough work, dedication to the safety committee, and laboratory hijinks.
Bill was a true Renaissance man. Whenever his children asked for something, he would say, “Let’s make one!” usually followed by “first thing we do is get an old lawnmower engine…”. He loved tools and spent hours sorting old hardware for re-use. Among other projects, he built a backyard stagecoach and rollercoaster, an apartment for his mother (from foundation to roof and all the systems in between), furniture and dollhouses; painted rural scenes on canvas; and carved a wooden cradle for each of his children when they started families of their own. He loved playing the guitar and singing folk songs in both English and German, and he also played the accordion, piano, harmonica, and zither guitar. His knowledge of the natural world was astounding, which informed his beautiful nature photos, his nature walks and his garden, which fed his large family throughout the year.
Bill was devoted to the values and activities of Scouting and said many times that his only requirement of his children was that they follow the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Law. He served as Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster for Pennington Boy Scout Troop 41 and for over two decades provided troop leadership. Bill’s volunteer work teaching woodworking at the House of Soul in Trenton led to the formation of Trenton Boy Scout Troop 8 with Bill serving as Scoutmaster. Bishop Sidney Gaines, a former Troop 8 Scout said Scoutmaster Groth “literally saved our lives.” Boy Scouts of America awarded Bill the National Boy Scout’s President’s Award for service to inner-city youth and the District Award of Merit. The Mercer Girl Scout Council recognized Pat and Bill Groth with an award for work at Camp Wanda in Jackson, NJ.
For many years Bill headed the building and grounds committee for the First Unitarian Church of Trenton and is remembered for safely removing from the old church building the antique stained-glass window now installed in the Titusville sanctuary. Bill was a dedicated blood donor and taught first aid and CPR, umpired for the Little League, was an active member of the Republican Committee in Pennington, served the First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County, and volunteered with the ARC of Hunterdon County. He clearly valued service to the community, which was evident in his greatest pride: his children’s and grandchildren’s service to others.
Bill will be remembered for his love of dogs, coffee, ice cream with hot fudge, more coffee and graph paper, but he will be remembered most for his sense of humor, which included an embarrassingly large dose of puns, but also practical jokes, pranks, cartoons, invented histories, jokes, quips, cracks and gotchas. A master of self-deprecating humor, he arrived at appointments in later years accompanied by one of his children, and habitually announced, “Bill Groth and handler here.” As much as he loved to tease others, he really enjoyed when the joke was on him. He was making others laugh until the last days of his life.
Bill Groth was predeceased by his wife, Patricia Celley Groth; parents, Estelle and William Groth: sister, Agnes Klein; and brother-in-law Robert Klein. He is greatly missed by his sons William Groth (Jean) of Overland Park, KS; Daniel Groth (Norene) of Green’s Fork, IN; and Rev. John Groth (Ranelle) of Newark, DE; and by his daughters, Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth (Donald Lawson) of South Milwaukee, WI and Dr. Charlie Groth (Daniel Tuft) of Lambertville, NJ. He was a favorite of his many grandchildren Erin Adams; Corrie, Sam, Jenna, John, and Shannon Groth; Keziah and Adelaide Groth-Tuft; Gabe and Eva Green; Annie and Mike Lawson; and Kelly and Blake Smith. His many nieces and nephews will remember Uncle Bill’s laughter and kindness, as will his cousins and his kinswoman, Rebecca Carey. He enjoyed having four great-granddaughters, Marena and Ingrid Green, Jane Adams and Zali Herron and at the time of his death Bill looked forward to the birth of his fifth great grandchild.
The Groth family will be receiving family and friends at a visitation on Tuesday, July 9, from 6 to 8 pm at the Van Horn-McDonough Funeral Home, 21 York Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 14, at 1 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, 268 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, NJ 08560.
Memorial donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.
A 1949 graduate of White Plains High School, he received the Rensselaer Medal Award and an Indian head nickel, which his math teacher gave him for coming up with a new proof. In his Junior year of college, Bill transferred from the University of Rochester to Columbia University, probably one of the few people to enter the Ivy League in order to go home and marry their high school sweetheart.
Bill married Patricia Celley, the absolute love of his life, on June 10th, 1951, and they lived the rest of their lives in North White Plains, Clarkstown (in a cabin), and New City, NY; Pennington and Ringoes, NJ; and Newtown, PA. They had five children and opened their home to others, including children who visited them through the Fresh Air Fund.
Bill Groth’s career as an analytical chemist began when he traded his erector set to his friend Bob Bormann, for Bob’s chemistry set. Bill became a chemist and Bob, an engineer, and later they thought they should have kept their own belongings. Nevertheless, Bill put in four decades at Lederle Labs (Pearl River, NY) and American Cyanamid (Princeton, NJ). His name appears on several patents, he served as Group Leader, and he was known for painstakingly thorough work, dedication to the safety committee, and laboratory hijinks.
Bill was a true Renaissance man. Whenever his children asked for something, he would say, “Let’s make one!” usually followed by “first thing we do is get an old lawnmower engine…”. He loved tools and spent hours sorting old hardware for re-use. Among other projects, he built a backyard stagecoach and rollercoaster, an apartment for his mother (from foundation to roof and all the systems in between), furniture and dollhouses; painted rural scenes on canvas; and carved a wooden cradle for each of his children when they started families of their own. He loved playing the guitar and singing folk songs in both English and German, and he also played the accordion, piano, harmonica, and zither guitar. His knowledge of the natural world was astounding, which informed his beautiful nature photos, his nature walks and his garden, which fed his large family throughout the year.
Bill was devoted to the values and activities of Scouting and said many times that his only requirement of his children was that they follow the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Law. He served as Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster for Pennington Boy Scout Troop 41 and for over two decades provided troop leadership. Bill’s volunteer work teaching woodworking at the House of Soul in Trenton led to the formation of Trenton Boy Scout Troop 8 with Bill serving as Scoutmaster. Bishop Sidney Gaines, a former Troop 8 Scout said Scoutmaster Groth “literally saved our lives.” Boy Scouts of America awarded Bill the National Boy Scout’s President’s Award for service to inner-city youth and the District Award of Merit. The Mercer Girl Scout Council recognized Pat and Bill Groth with an award for work at Camp Wanda in Jackson, NJ.
For many years Bill headed the building and grounds committee for the First Unitarian Church of Trenton and is remembered for safely removing from the old church building the antique stained-glass window now installed in the Titusville sanctuary. Bill was a dedicated blood donor and taught first aid and CPR, umpired for the Little League, was an active member of the Republican Committee in Pennington, served the First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County, and volunteered with the ARC of Hunterdon County. He clearly valued service to the community, which was evident in his greatest pride: his children’s and grandchildren’s service to others.
Bill will be remembered for his love of dogs, coffee, ice cream with hot fudge, more coffee and graph paper, but he will be remembered most for his sense of humor, which included an embarrassingly large dose of puns, but also practical jokes, pranks, cartoons, invented histories, jokes, quips, cracks and gotchas. A master of self-deprecating humor, he arrived at appointments in later years accompanied by one of his children, and habitually announced, “Bill Groth and handler here.” As much as he loved to tease others, he really enjoyed when the joke was on him. He was making others laugh until the last days of his life.
Bill Groth was predeceased by his wife, Patricia Celley Groth; parents, Estelle and William Groth: sister, Agnes Klein; and brother-in-law Robert Klein. He is greatly missed by his sons William Groth (Jean) of Overland Park, KS; Daniel Groth (Norene) of Green’s Fork, IN; and Rev. John Groth (Ranelle) of Newark, DE; and by his daughters, Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth (Donald Lawson) of South Milwaukee, WI and Dr. Charlie Groth (Daniel Tuft) of Lambertville, NJ. He was a favorite of his many grandchildren Erin Adams; Corrie, Sam, Jenna, John, and Shannon Groth; Keziah and Adelaide Groth-Tuft; Gabe and Eva Green; Annie and Mike Lawson; and Kelly and Blake Smith. His many nieces and nephews will remember Uncle Bill’s laughter and kindness, as will his cousins and his kinswoman, Rebecca Carey. He enjoyed having four great-granddaughters, Marena and Ingrid Green, Jane Adams and Zali Herron and at the time of his death Bill looked forward to the birth of his fifth great grandchild.
The Groth family will be receiving family and friends at a visitation on Tuesday, July 9, from 6 to 8 pm at the Van Horn-McDonough Funeral Home, 21 York Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 14, at 1 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, 268 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, NJ 08560.
Memorial donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.