Town of Clinton – James L. DeGroat, 68, passed away unexpectedly on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2018 while visiting his best friend and former co-worker, Carlo Tartaglia, in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Born in New York City on May 10, 1949, he was the son of the late Robert and Betty Ann Green DeGroat. Mr. DeGroat grew up in Mineola, Long Island and graduated in 1967 from Wheatley High School in Westbury.
Following High school, he proudly served in the United States Navy as a Sonar Tech on the USS Cohen during Vietnam.
Jim was a Senior Product Support Engineer with Axcelis Technologies in Fishkill for 35 years until his retirement in 2014. During his career, he decided to pursue his master’s degree and received a Master of Business Information Systems from the University of Phoenix.
Coincidently, his retirement coincided with the birth of his first grandchild, which he adamantly assumed the role of babysitter. Over the next 3 years, “Grand-Daddy Daycare” grew to 3 grandkids. These were his most cherished days.
Along with taking care of his grandchildren, Jim enjoyed traveling (especially with his wife) and was an avid Ham Radio operator, participating in various local clubs.
In April 1984 in St. Denis Church, Hopewell Junction, he married the former Diane Flynn. Mrs. DeGroat survives at home.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Kyle DeGroat of Staatsburg; daughter, Caitlin Begley and husband, Rob, of Red Hook; three adored grandchildren, Ronan, Austin, and Mila; three brothers, Jeff DeGroat and wife, Ellen, of Tennessee, John DeGroat and wife, Lise, of NYC, and Jay DeGroat and wife, Jeannette, of Poughkeepsie; nieces and nephews, Kim, Joe, Maren, and Nathan DeGroat, and Shawn Farrell; and many beloved cousins.
In keeping with his wishes, cremation has taken place. A Memorial Service will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, May 12th at Lyall Memorial Federated Church, 30 Maple Ave, Millbrook. Rev. Thomas Fiet will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, the DeGroat family respectfully requests memorial donations to Dutchess Outreach, Attn: Beverly Closs Food Pantry, 29 North Hamilton St., Suite 220, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (www.dutchessoutreach.org), or, the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1100, Syracuse, NY 13201-1100 (www.cancer.org).
