Influential funeral home director remembered

SANDUSKY — The community mourns the loss of a local funeral home owner known for his philanthropic spirit and compassion. Leon Groff, the president of Groff Funeral Home, died unexpectedly Tuesday at the age of 68. "In the funeral business, he saw people during their darkest moments, and the care and kindness he showed them had far-reaching effects on the community," Sandusky ex officio mayor Dick Brady said. Groff was born in 1951 to F. Leo and Madelyn Groff. After graduating from St. Mary's High School, he attended BGSU Firelands. He went on to get a degree from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He returned to Sandusky to work with his father at the Frey-Groff Funeral Home. In 1987, he moved his family business to a newly built funeral home on East Perkins Avenue. Groff continued to expand upon his family's business by offering new services and building funeral homes in communities like Milan and Huron. "He was a visionary," said Erie County auditor Rick Jeffrey, who worked for Groff for 20 years. "He took chances and was always on the top of his game. He believed funerals weren't for the ones who passed away, but for the ones they left behind and he always looked for new ways to help them." Groff passed the knowledge he learned from his father and his years of experience in funerals down to his employees. "He taught me to be the type of funeral director he was, and his father was before him," said Kurt Kressser, Groff's funeral home manager. "He instilled a lot of good qualities that I hope to be able to continue to use to provide the same level of service he and his father had for years. Leon was a good guy, and I will miss seeing him come into the funeral home every day." He shared the same loyalty and compassion he gave clients to the community and his friends. It was a trait that Brady saw first-hand. Brady met Groff in high school, and the two stayed the best of friends for 55 years. In 1999, Brady was electrocuted in an industrial accident. "Leon was the first person to meet me at the hospital," Brady said. "He was the type of person on whom you could count. No matter the time of day, he'd be there for his friends and his community. It's not a trait you see too often." Groff also gave back to the community through donations, his involvement in St. Mary's Catholic Church, membership in various organizations and serving on boards in the area. "He was just one of those people who thought about others more than himself," Jeffrey said. "In my opinion, there's no better person. I'm better off for having known him, and this community is better off for having had him." "There are few people who are larger as life, but people will remember Leon as one because of his generosity, personality and unwavering commitment to his community," Brady said.