David Haan Groll

1941 - 2022

David Haan Groll
February. 5, 1941 - February 24, 2022
Resident of Pacific Grove
After a long and full life, David passed away on 2/24/22 at age 81 from lymphoma.
David was born to Nellie Haan Groll and Otto Carley Groll in Norwood, Massachusetts and raised in South Walpole. He graduated from Walpole High School and Clark University in Worchester, MA. Fiat Lux (Let There Be Light), the Clark University motto, was a guiding principle for David. He seemed to take his studies in finance at Clark seriously, second only to mastering ping pong, darts and pool!
Accepting his first job offer in California, David arrived from New England via Route 66 in his silver and black Corvette. Reporting home to his mother, he wrote, "I'm living on Easy Street" which, in fact, was true since his new Mountain View apartment was on Easy Street. But it took some time for him to adapt to being on Easy Street, still preferring to use a pair of socks for driving gloves!
David's financial responsibilities increased as he rose through the ranks during the growth years of tech giants Raytheon, Varian Associates and United Technologies. Along the way to ultimately becoming Controller at the Chemical Systems Division at United Technologies, he earned an MBA at Santa Clara University.
After retiring at age 55, David and Betty lived in Geneva, Switzerland (1998-2000) and Nuka'alofa, Kingdom of Tonga (2003-2006) for Betty's work. David really loved these years of being retired while Betty was still working!
Home has been Pacific Grove since 2007, where David's idea of fun was preparing taxes for seniors through the Alliance on Aging. He reveled in the numbers, but he mostly enjoyed the extraordinary life stories of the people he was helping.
He loved being active, particularly hiking and golfing, until very recently. And though David was anything but boastful, he was very proud of his hole-in-one!
David was a good friend to many and he had wonderful friends at home and around the world. He truly never met a stranger in his life and thrived on getting to know people from all walks of life. He kept in touch with everyone and could be counted on to pull a tattered piece of paper out of his ancient wallet with a smudged address and telephone number of someone he knew in an area they were visiting. Of course, David preferred the surprise visit!
Wherever David was, or whatever he was doing, from golfing to initiating his favorite hand-slap game with Botswanan children, his genuine kindness, curiosity about the world, and infectious laugh shone through, along with the twinkle in his eyes.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have taken David around the world. He was a stickler for meal time and Betty somehow managed to produce a PB& J out of their day pack precisely at noon whether they were on the back of a donkey cart bumping through a Mongolian stream or atop a skyscraper in Basel. David would even share his sandwich if he thought you were hungry too.
He and Betty almost met their goal of visiting 100 countries. David was equally comfortable in the presence of the King of Tonga or sitting in a corrugated tin building that was a make-shift Bhutanese "movie house."
David is survived by his wife and travel companion of 41 years, Betty Leach Crowder, his brother, Donald "Jake" Groll of Middlebury, Vermont, and sisters-in-law Nancy Leach Majors of Oklahoma (Bill) and Helen Leach Sauer of Tennessee (Chuck Heffner) and brother-in-law Jerry Leach of Virginia (Marianne), and their daughters' families.
He is also survived by his 'adopted' Tongan family: Sione and Vai Tuanisila and their 4 kids (one of whom is named David Groll, Jr.!) and his 'adopted' Ugandan family, Deo and Scovia Nalusafu and their children.
The family sends a huge thank you to Dr. Ranjana Advani at Stanford Cancer Center and to her compassionate and responsive team. She was more than David's doctor; she was his cheerleader. Since 2008, she pulled miracles out of her hat time and again for David, ensuring that he could continue to enjoy a rich and rewarding life for many years. Sincere thanks also go to Dr. Michael Wang at MD Anderson in Houston and to everyone at the Pacific Cancer Care and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and Forest Hills Manor.
David will be sorely missed by all who loved and admired his gentle compassion for everyone. He will be remembered as one of the good guys!
If desired, donations can be made in his honor to your favorite charity or to:
The lymphoma research of Dr. Ranjana Advani (Stanford University, 326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94305) or to First Tee (FirstTee.org) to support his love of golf and kids.
A celebration of David's life will be scheduled at a later date.
Going, going, going on beyond…..


View the online memorial for David Haan Groll