Frank R. Groves Jr.

Frank Roche Groves Jr., 81, a native of New Orleans and a resident of Baton Rouge, passed away Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. He was a professor of chemical engineering at LSU from 1958 to 2003. The visitation will be at Greenoaks Funeral Home on Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and resumes Thursday at St. John's United Methodist Church from 9 a.m. until service at 10 a.m. Burial in Greenoaks Memorial Park. Survivors include his wife, Mary Reed Groves; son, Frank Dunbar Groves, of Louisville, Ky.; two stepsons, James Focht and wife Nancy, of Charlotte, N.C., and Gary Focht and wife Lisa Knotts, of Baton Rouge; stepdaughter, Kathleen Wheeler, of Macon, Ga.; also survived by six stepgrandchildren, Christopher Focht, Caroline Focht, Stephen Wheeler, Jared Focht, Matthew Wheeler and Michael Focht. Preceded in death by his parents, Frank R. Groves Sr. and Clara Burgard Groves; and first wife of 40 years, Margaret Hodge Groves. Frank was a volunteer tutor for the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools and volunteered with the United Way, Baton Rouge General Hospital and the Boy Scouts of America. A member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, American Chemical Society and the chemistry fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Tulane University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Memorial donations may be made in his honor to the Department of Chemical Engineering at LSU, where a memorial scholarship will be established in his name.