Ellen Christine Groh's Obituary
Ellen Groh, 85, of Sarasota, FL, passed away April 4, 2016. Ellen was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 8, 1931. Her parents, Oscar and Ada Groh, preceded her in death.
After High School Ellen spent one year at Bob Jones University and three years at West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing where she received her nursing degree in November, 1952. Afterwards she attended the Detroit Bible Institute to get a diploma in the Missions Course. In 1956 she went to Zambia, Africa to serve in the mission field for AEF (Africa Evangelical Fellowship). She served in the Mukinge hospital in Zambia for 14 years until she felt that God was calling her to serve in the villages of Zambia. While she was in the villages she began doing bible teaching in the afternoons and evenings to those who had never heard the word of God while continuing to do nursing in the mornings
In the mid 1970’s she returned to the states because of back problems. While home on furlough she completed her bachelor’s degree at Wheaton college which she received in August 1979. She then returned to Zambia to serve until she retired in 1997. After spending several years of her retirement in Zambia her health was such that she needed to return to the states. She moved to Bradenton, Florida and lived in several nursing homes until her death. Her dear friend, Evelyn Waller Genheimer looked after her for those many years in the Florida area.
Ellen truly loved the Lord and loved to share the good news with all those with whom she came in contact, especially the nurses and aids at the nursing homes. She had a brother, Warren and a sister, Lois both of whom have since passed along with her brother in law, David Kocher. Ellen is survived by her nieces and nephews: Laurie Israel, Janet George, Sharon Morris, Michael Groh, Joel Kocher, Mark Kocher and Paul Kocher and her sister in law, Dorothy Groh.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, April 16 at 11:00. Family and friends are invited to gather at 10:30 am. Arrangements have been entrusted to Skyway Memorial Funeral Home.
MEMORIES OF OUR AUNT ELLEN
January 8, 1931 - April 4, 2016
Ellen was born the second of three in Detroit, MI, on January 8, 1931. She accepted the Lord about age 7 and by age 12 knew she wanted to be a missionary. She grew up in a home greatly involved in mission work. Her mother, Ada Groh, coordinated the Annual Missionary Conference for Highland Park Baptist Church in Detroit for many years. Several churches in the Detroit area would hold their missions conferences at the same time and the missionaries would be shared among all those churches for their services. This involved scheduling and coordinating some 60 to 70 missionaries to fill the speaking needs. Ada often entertained missionaries in the Groh home. This significantly affected Ellen as well as her sister and brother, creating interest to be involved in missions/God’s Work full time. Sharon tells of a friendship she has made with a gal in the Dallas area who had been mentored by Ellen when she was counseling gals at Detroit Bible College. This gal spoke of how much Ellen’s counsel had helped her at that point in her life.
Ellen’s post high school education includes (not necessarily in this order):
1 year at Bob Jones University
3 years at West Sub, Diploma in Nursing
1 year at Wayne State University (Detroit)
2.5 years at Detroit Bible College, Missions Major
Ellen graduated from West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing in 1956, and shortly after that went to Africa as a missionary nurse to Mukinge Hospital in Zambia, Africa. As time went on, Ellen gradually became involved in teaching the Bible to women's groups in other cities in Zambia as well as the USA, and that became a full-time ministry until death--she never stopped looking for an opportunity to teach, even as she sat in a wheelchair in various nursing homes. Her love for God and His Word spilled into the lives of her nieces and nephews . . . Laurie says it was because of Aunt Ellen that she also has had a life-long interest in missions.
West Suburban Hospital was associated with Wheaton College, and while Ellen was on extended medical furlough from Zambia, due to a back problem, she was working on her Bachelor of Arts degree at Wheaton while her nieces, Sharon and Janet, were completing their studies at West Sub, where Ellen had graduated 20 years earlier. Ellen finished her Bachelor’s degree in 1979. Being close to each other during that time was special for all three of them.
During this extended furlough, Ellen partnered with an organization which taped the entire reading of the New Testament in the Kaonde tribal language on cassette tape. Ellen helped by listening for the correct inflection and dialect pronunciation of the taping. Ellen felt this was one of the more significant things she had been able to do in making God’s Word available to over 200,000 Kaonde people. For those who could not read, they could now hear God’s Word in their own language. In September 1980, Ellen was able to return to Zambia, where she worked under the African Church in Kitwe, Zambia, teaching the Zambian women as she had done before. During the time when she was helping with the taping of the Kaonde language, Sharon asked to learn how to say, “I love you very much!” When she got the inflection right, it was so funny, leaving us laughing hysterically. These last few years, Sharon would often call Ellen at bedtime to talk and pray with her. Ellen had trouble staying awake, but dearly loved her calls. When Ellen would snore away, Sharon knew it was her cue to say good night. One night, Sharon uttered “I love you very much” in Kaonde after she heard Ellen Zzzzzzing off. Ellen suddenly became very alert, telling Sharon she had lost her inflection and needed to practice saying it correctly!!!!!!
Ellen was single her entire life, feeling called by God to that state. She was a very fun aunt. Her entire family has fond memories of her visits. We all loved the trinkets from Africa she would pull out of her suitcase when she came to visit . . . tiny elephants and camels carved from local materials, drums, fabrics, baskets made locally, necklaces made from copper mined in Zambia,. . .bicycles fashioned out of wire and rubber from South Africa (her favorite African place to “travel on holiday”) . . .our New Testaments with wood covers carved out of olive wood from her visit to Israel.
She could laugh like none other. She was energetic and full of spunk. . and, honestly, quite mischievous!! Sharon recalls that Ellen often goaded her nieces into food and water fights, reminiscent of the famous ketchup & mustard fight between Ellen’s brother Warren and his wife Dorothy and provoked by her mischievous brother-in-law Dave Kocher. Laurie remembers a time when Ellen was helping to set the table with her nephew, Mike, and threatened to douse him with the water she was taking to the table. He said she wouldn't dare and--she promptly threw the entire contents of the pitcher all over him! Laurie says, “I can still see the shock on his face and hear her laughter!” Ellen was at a Reds ball game with Laurie one summer night when a cracked bat flew up into the stands and Ellen decided this one was hers!!! And it was!! These last few years, when Janet and her husband visited, Aunt Ellen would always ask if we could take her out to eat. It became a standing joke for Janet’s husband to tell her he would have to hoist her on the back of his motorcycle. She never missed a beat . . .”If you can get me up on it, I’m game; Janet can walk!”
Another funny memory many of us had was our unmarried aunt taking her nieces (and Michael’s fiancée) under her wing for pre-marital counseling. What could we expect from someone who was charged with this teaching in Africa? The marriage counseling continued every four years with her state-side visits!
She LOVED to travel to visit her family and her many supporters, many of whom were from Highland Park Baptist Church in Detroit, MI and Faith Bible Church in Cincinnati, OH.
Janet recalls a lot of conversations with family about Ellen defying death's door on so many occasions: there was a family joke that she has outlived a cat’s nine lives. Of course, we know that God knew her numbered days and had His plan. But she has survived a number of serious car accidents as well as a plane crash. She has been under hospice care and back out of it numerous times. It had been hard for her to be the last, and being overseas for so long made it difficult to make up for that lost face time with her family. However, her friends at the end have been Karen and Ed Jones, the Genheimers, and Ev Waller, a fellow missionary from Zambia who is now married to Don Genheimer. They have truly been family to her. And others from Faith Bible Church in Cincinnati have visited with her when their travels took them both to Africa before she retired, as well as to one of her homes more recently in Florida. Her sister-in-law, Dorothy Groh, and all her nieces and nephews have been so grateful for these individuals and couples that have visited Ellen this past decade, when her own family could not do so very often.
She is now in a place where the focus of life is worshiping God with her family and friends that have preceded her. Her pain and health issues are gone
What’s your fondest memory of Ellen?
What’s a lesson you learned from Ellen?
Share a story where Ellen's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Ellen you’ll never forget.
How did Ellen make you smile?