[NU Sports] John DeGroat

[Beamsley, Jeff]

Paul,

Thanks for the note.

I didn't often agree with John either and also enjoyed some lively "off
list" exchanges.  

I'm sure his kids knew what a passionate and feisty guy he was.  Well he
was the same way with all the folks he never met in person here on this
list.

I'm sorry that I didn't have the opportunity to meet him in person.  But
perhaps if I live a good life too, I may yet have that opportunity in
the next life.  The thought of engaging in an eternal daily tussle of
ideas could very well be his heaven and might be a good one for me too.


Jeff 


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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
On Behalf Of NEONRye at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 11:47 AM
To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Cc: ssacks71 at optonline.net; carl_degroat at msn.com
Subject: [NU Sports] John DeGroat

Dear Fellow List Members,
 
I have some sad news to report.  Sandy Sacks, the "Godfather" of the  NU
Club of New York, and a former Wildcat lineman (in the 1950's), as well
as my good friend, and a longtime friend of John DeGroat, forwarded to
me an email from John's son, Carl, with John's obituary (which I am
"pasting"  
below).  I then wrote an email to Carl, expressing my sympathy and
informing him of John's importance to the List and of my feelings about
John's  passing.  
Carl, in turn, graciously wrote back and provided details about  John's
untimely loss, which I will also share with all of you (below).  
 
John was someone who one minute could infuriate me with a stray comment
in an email, while then putting a smile on my face in the next paragraph
of the  same email.  From time to time he would email me privately (in
response to  one of my emails), suggesting (always in a friendly,
mentoring kind of
manner)  that I read such and such book or article, if I hadn't already
done so.  He  will be sorely missed on this list--for his passionate
devotion to NU and  Wildcat sports (except for baseball--which as all of
know--he wanted dropped,  since he felt the University would never
commit sufficient resources to the team  to permit it to compete
effectively), as well as for his opinions on many  relevant issues,
relevant and otherwise.  He was always a straight  shooter, and you knew
where he stood--and that is a trait that I 
value very  much.   
 
Here's the Obituary:
 
 
John A. DeGroat's  Obituary
DeGroat, John Albert died September 25, 2009.  Born  December 18,  1931,
he was the husband of Gail B. DeGroat.  He is survived by two sons, Carl
of Purcellville, VA and Eric of Bromma, Sweden plus four grandsons,
Axel, John (Jack), Nick and August and two granddaughters, Jackie and
Elsa.  He was pre-deceased by his sister  Jacqueline DiPiero and his
father and mother Dr. 
Albert DeGroat and Andre`  DeGroat, all from the Detroit area. A
graduate of Northwestern University and the Wharton Graduate School, he
spent his career in various  corporate financial positions including,
investor relations with GTE and later  as a consultant in that field
before retiring.  He served in the US Army's Counter  Intelligence Corps
during the Cold War from 1955-1957, much of that time with  the 66th CIC
Detachment in Berlin, Germany. 
He  thoroughly enjoyed traveling with his wife Gail as well as
collecting antiques.  Pheasant hunting and clay target shooting with
friends were favorite  pastimes.  He loved watching  Northwestern
University football and basketball much to the chagrin of Gail, a Penn
State graduate. He was also a life long  fan of the Detroit Tigers and
Detroit Lions. 
A memorial  service will be held later. Donations may be made to the
Otterbein United  Methodist Church 647 Forge Road Carlisle, PA 17015 or
to Hospice of Central  Pennsylvania, PO Box  266 Enola, PA 17025 or to
the Northwestern University  Wild Cat Fund in Evanston,  Illinois. 
************************************************************************
****
***
And here's the Email from Carl De Groat: 
The passing of my dad was actually a surprise.   He complained of a sore

throat about a month ago and it just would not go  away.  It hurt so
much, he really was not eating and as a result, probably  got a little
weak.  About two weeks ago he fell reaching for the chain on  the
ceiling fan and could not get himself back up.  Gail had to call an
ambulance and they took him to the hospital.  There were no injuries
from  the fall, but he told them of his sore throat.  He was very weak,
so they  admitted him to the hospital.  No one could figure out what was
wrong.  The doctors assumed it was just some virus.  His tonsils were
swollen but that was it. I visited on the 16th or 17th and he was in a
lot of  pain and could barely speak.  The doctors all assumed he would
get  better.  Finally an ENT saw him and even he could not figure out
what was  up.  He did a CT Scan of his neck and still saw nothing.  The
doctor  ended up sedating my dad so he could go in and clean up my dad's
throat to get a  better look.  Turned out he had cancer of the lymph
nodes.  I was able  to see him on Thursday, but by then he could not
speak.  I spent the night  with him at the hospital and fortunately was
with him when died on Friday  afternoon. 
The hospice people were wonderful while my dad was  in the hospital.
They are the ones who instructed the doctors and nurses  on how to care
for my dad and to make sure he was comfortable.  They  checked in on him
everyday and answered all of Gail's questions.  The  hospice nurses
explained what to expect as he slipped away.  My dad donated  his body
to the Hershey Medical Center and the hospice folks even made all the
arrangements for the transportation of my dad's body. 
May he rest in peace,
Paul Levinson 



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