William S. DeGroat

This angel pin was designed in memory of William S. Degroat whose son wrote, "My father was a High School math teacher with the Wappingers Central School district, he loved teaching and did it 36+ years. He never did it for the money but the love of the job. When he retired in 1996 he lived only another couple of years, never getting to fully appreciate and enjoy what he had built up for retirement. He died very suddenly from a heart attack. Ironically when he was getting ready to go to his heart health class, he knew he had a heart problem and was doing
everything right to correct it.

He also had a great love for roses, I remember from a very early age, he would be outside in his rose gardens tending to them all year long, even in the winter. This was his one true passion and he had the most beautiful rose gardens in the area, outside of the historic site in Hyde Park, NY. He was also an avid stamp collector, the house was full of stamp albums. It seemed at times after his death, we kept finding them everywhere in the house. we still don't know the full extent of his collection even 8 years later, we still find hidden stamp albums.

The night before his death,  I had a dream.  I walked in the front door of the house and found him
lying on the floor. I went to him and started CPR, after what seemed like a few minutes. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see him standing at the front door; he said good bye to me and walked out.  I
turned back and he was still lying on the floor. That morning on my way to the train station, I work in NYC, I inadvertently drove past the house, what motivated me at the time I can't say, but I didn't stop.
About 9am that morning I got the phone call from my sister.  Dad had died, he was found on the bathroom floor.  I've never been able to reconcile that dream in my head, and I miss my father so much. His laugh, his voice was such an understated voice until he became animated about something, good or bad, it became a booming voice followed by a booming laugh.

The stories I heard about him afterwards and just how proud he was of me and my sister, still make me cry to this day. I went to the same High School he taught in, I can't  tell you the embarrassment that
caused, but I treasure that time now, knowing it was time spent with him watching over me while his was still alive."
 

Designs by Rosemary
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