William H. "Bill" Groth Jr.

1931 - 2018

William "Bill" Henry Groth, Jr. passed peacefully on May 6th while holding the hands of loved ones and listening to the songs of Nat King Cole. Bill was born on August 23,1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth McBride Groth and William Groth, Sr., often referred to as "Mom & Dad or Nanny & Pop-Pop." As a boy, he loved going to the shore and fishing off the pier using a wood stick for a rod. His love for the sea continued into his twenties when he enlisted in the US Navy and spent the years from 1951-1955 on the aircraft carrier the USS Wright - swabbing the deck, eating the mess and charting the weather. He traveled around the world with stops in Italy, France, Scotland and Miami Beach. There, he met his future wife who was introduced to him as "Tewks," a young nurse in training, Dorothy Tewksbury. In August 1957, Bill and Dot got married in her hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts. They moved to Philadelphia and became parents to "Irish triplets," three boys who were born one year apart 1958-1960, followed by a daughter in 1963. While raising a family and working at Honeywell's Industrial Products Group, Bill pursued his Engineering degree at Drexel University and graduated in 1963. He went on to graduate studies in Electrical Engineering at Penn State and Northeastern University from 1963-1968. Bill left Honeywell (along with a group of co-workers and friends) in 1968 and moved to South Florida to take a management position at Systems Engineering Laboratory. He and his colleagues went on to co-found Modular Computer Systems in 1970. MODCOMP produced computers used for tracking and data collection for NASA space probes and to control the Space Shuttle launch complex at Cape Canaveral. On weekends and holidays, Bill and family would spend their time fishing off the coast of Fort Lauderdale and in the Keys. He bought his first fishing boat in the early 70s and when not out on the water, he enjoyed tinkering in the hull. In 1975, Bill's wife Dot unexpectedly died at the age of 44 from complications after heart valve replacement surgery. He was left to raise his three boys and girl, with the support of his family and friends. He renamed his boat the "Dotty G" in his wife's honor. The following decade, he and colleagues left MODCOMP to create a new technology start-up, Telematics International. Bill was Director of Hardware Technology for the company, which was acquired by ECI Telecom in 1993. Bill retired in his early sixties, bought his dream fishing boat, docked it behind his house in Lighthouse Point and spent many of his days out on the ocean. His other passions included reading, tinkering around the house, growing orchids, archiving family photos and making the annual Christmas calendar, drinking sea breezes, smoking Cuban cigars, listening to Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole & Jimmy Buffet and enjoying his morning ritual of donuts and coffee. Bill is survived by his three sons & their wives, William & Patricia, Michael & Ileana, Stephen & Theresa, his daughter Barbara and his two sisters Dorothy Crist and Elizabeth Dempsey. His grandchildren include William, Kyle, Jennifer, Michael, Gabriela, Caroline & Paul and his great grandchildren Teagan & Dean. Services for Bill Groth will be held on Monday, May 14th, 9:30 am at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Lighthouse Point, followed by a graveside burial of his cremains next to his wife Dorothy at Our Lady Queen of Heaven cemetery and an afternoon reception and celebration of Bill's life at the Hillsboro Club in Hillsboro Beach. Donations in Bill's honor can be made to the International Game Fish Association. https://igfa.org/Donations.aspx or by phone (954)927-2628 Flowers for Bill's memorial service can be sent via Victoria Park Flowers, Fort Lauderdale. (954) 463-0505