Donald, a scientist, an educator, passed away on August 19th surrounded by family. He was the fourth boy in a tight-knit family of eight raised during the depression in Lancaster, PA. He leaves behind him his wife of 65 years, Mary Groff; his son, Dana Groff; grandchildren Duncan and Zoe Groff; his brother Philip Groff and sister Susan Stusnik.
He joined the Army Air Corp at the end of WW2 and trained to be a jet mechanic, but his typing skills promoted him into squadron supply on the Alaskan frontier. The GI bill enabled his undergraduate degree at the University of Redlands in Geophysics and his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Pittsburgh. He taught at Indiana University and Allegheny University, where he met his wife Mary “Polly” Graves from West Orange NJ.
In 1966, he joined Western Connecticut State University as a full professor. He would create its Geology Department and be its chairman until 1987. He was known for his regular field trips to experience geology. For non-majors, he created mineral cutting and gemology courses so they too could experience nature's bounty. He retired from academia to lead LMS Engineering’s Hydrology department; later he joined Storch Associates as their Corporate Deputy Director of Environmental Services. Throughout and beyond his academic and professional career, he served on Danbury and Brookfield Wetlands commissions. In his retirement, he was active in bringing transparency to local Brookfield politics.
Don left behind him a generation of new geologists to explore, discover and protect earth’s resources. He will be missed by all.
A memorial service will be held this Saturday, September 10, at 11:00 am at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Brookfield, CT.
