Herman Groce Jr. 1948 - 2014

[just bob]

I had the good fortune of working with Herman Groce for over 35 years. During that period of time I developed a friendship and a good working relationship with the man.
Herman grew up helping his dad in the construction business and was a good carpenter and a great handyman. Herman had spent evenings on the roof of my house or in my crawl space trying to get it through my thick head the best way to accomplish what I was trying to do. Herman had a 4 car garage that you couldn’t park a car in because it was full of tools. I think as his dad aged Herman acquired many of his tools and Herman never saw a rummage sale he wouldn’t stop at. No matter if you needed a floor jack or a hole saw Herman had 3 of them and was always happy to loan them out. Herman never asked for a penny for his time, tools, or advice.
It was said at the funeral home that Herman got up early the day he died and went on a walk with his wife. Later that day he went to mow his dad’s yard and fell over dead with a heart attack. It seems fitting that Herman would die doing something for someone else. That’s just who he was.
66 years old, recently retired, seemingly in good health, set to enjoy the golden years, and gone in an instant. Such a sad scenario that perhaps we should all take note of because it could happen to us just as well. At the funeral service they said that Herman didn’t like to preach to anyone and he didn’t like being preached to. He was a man that lived his own convictions and allowed others to do the same without trying to change them.
A good day for Herman began with biscuits & gravy and ended up with a ride on his Harley. When I saw this knife on Ebay I knew what I wanted to do with it. With the help of a friend we did the modifications and are giving the knife to Herman’s son.
Just thought I would post it here as a tribute to a good man that was taken from us all too soon.

[philco]

Such a nice tribute. I'm sure it will be much appreciated.

[orvet]

That is a nice tribute!
He sounds like he was a great guy.