Alta P. Groff

ELKHART -- Alta P. Groff, 89, of Calumet Avenue, died Saturday (Oct. 25, 2008) at 4:50 p.m. at Elkhart General Hospital after a sudden illness.

She was born Aug. 31, 1919, in Rochester, N.Y., to Ivan E. and Minnie (Lovell) Powell. She married Chester F. Groff on April 18, 1942, in Rochester. He died in September 1990.

She is survived by two daughters, Beverly K. (Tim) Templeton of Elkhart and Susan J. (Darell) Lovejoy of Ohio; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by one son, David A. Groff; one grandson, Brian Templeton; one brother, Elno M. Powell; and two sisters, Marion Ireland and Esther Peck.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Billings Funeral Home, 812 Baldwin St. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, also at the funeral home. Pastor Dwight Gosser of the New Life Christian Center in Bristol will officiate. Burial will follow at Rice Cemetery in Elkhart.

Mrs. Groff spent most of her adult life as a homemaker, but served nearly 13 years as a secretary for several Elkhart churches, including First Presbyterian Church, First Congregational Church and Calvary Assembly of God. She was a former member of Calvary and had served there as librarian, Sunday school teacher, children's choir director and head of several adult prayer groups. She had recently attended the New Life Christian Center, participating in the Classics group. She had attended Syracuse University, Rochester Business Institute in New York and the Elkhart Bible Institute.

She had worked for the U.S. Department of Defense and was a published author who composed poems for Ideal magazine. She enjoyed writing, gardening, painting, sewing and family.

Memorials may be given to the New Life Christian Center or to breast cancer research. Online condolences may be sent at www.billingsfuneralhome.com.