William Edward De Groot

William Edward De Groot was born to Arthur and Marjorie De Groot on July 18, 1944 in Lynden, Washington. At age 10 the family moved to Ripon then Santa Clara, CA during his high school years before returning to Washington. There Bill worked at his dads radiator shop in Seattle before promoting to Staff Sergeant the U.S. Air Force, serving four years as a Flight Simulator Specialist and learning many life-long skills.
Bill married Patty and the two lived in Concord, CA, had daughters Shannon and Wendy, as well as being foster parents to several children through the years of their marriage. Bill was skilled in construction, mechanics, painting, and was a true jack of all trades. Later the family moved to Casa Grande, AZBill loved the heat and a love for cacti and succulents blossomed. There he owned and operated a radiator shop and began his impressive succulent collections. He loved finding new and rare cacti, learning their taxonomical names and habitats. Later the family moved to Flagstaff, where Bill continued in his education, receiving an RN degree and working as a registered nurse.
Eventually he settled in the Modesto area working as a handyman with a reputation of being able to fix just about anything, while adding to his plants and inspiring other family members to join in the pursuit of beautiful succulents
Bill loved music and singing all his life, sharing songs with others. He felt things very deeply, and throughout the years wrote down many thoughts, inspirations and poems. An avid reader, he and his sister, Evelyn shared many walks together in the country discussing books they had read. They also went on many fishing trips to the Eastern Sierras. Bill loved the freedom of traveling by car or bike, driving on winding roads to many desert places, enjoying the beauty and visiting friends and his family.
Bill is survived by his daughters, Shannon Saleh and Wendy De Groot; four grandchildren, Anisa and Karenna Saleh, Gabriel Kakar and Javier Otero. He also leaves seven sisters and two brothers.
One of Williams many poems of faith:
The knowing is the Spirit's gift
His wisdom covers every rift
To be sure that I'm not just existing
On my own judgement, or my insisting
Without Him I am set adrift
On my own I'm searching, lost But He's already paid the cost
Of my restoration, my contrite heart
Through the resurrection's perfect art
This is the knowing line I crossed
A private memorial will be held by family and friends. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of William, please visit our Tree Store.