Stephen Lee Groff
Stephen Lee Groff of Haiku, Maui was born November 26, 1950 and passed away March 31, 2024 at home surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Agnes Pszyk Groff, his sons, Stephen (Jessica) Groff and Dwayne (Holly) Groff, and hanai son, Cameron Layer, his three grandchildren, Raddon, Paxton, and Elizabeth Groff, and his mother, Audrey Groff. He is predeceased by his father, Clarence Vaughn, and parents-in-law, Michael and Violet Pszyk.
Steve was born in Vermilion, Illinois and raised in Orange, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army as a Military Policeman and Detective from 1972-1978. He earned the National Defense Service Medal and twice earned the Good Conduct Medal. Steve was stationed on Oahu and met Agnes while on weekend leave in 1975 at Charlie’s Restaurant in Paia. They married the next year. Steve completed his military service, and the newlyweds relocated back to Maui to raise their family.
Steve worked for the County of Maui for over 25 years, starting as a wastewater mechanic and working his way up to Operations Manager.
He and Agnes enjoyed traveling. They would often book a trip with the intention of just driving, never knowing beforehand where they’d end up. Their travels took them all over North America, including several cruises to Alaska.
Steve enjoyed building RC airplanes and spent many Sunday mornings at the airfield. He was President of the Maui Radio Control Modelers club and was a member for 20 years.
Steve also spent many hours volunteering with the community both here on Maui and in Texas. He and his son Dwayne traveled to Texas following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild his mother’s community. Steve spent many years volunteering his time with Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) working to help rehabilitate inmates from MCCC. One project was rebuilding the old Cabebe’s store and turning it into the drug rehab center for MEO. Steve earned the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award for 2011 – 2012.
Fishing was another passion of Steve's, and he often said, “Anyone living in Hawai’i should own a boat!” He had many boats over the years and would take his sons and their friends fishing. It was there that Steve’s boys developed that same passion for fishing. Steve was also a proud grandfather for the last chapter of his life and loved his grandchildren dearly.
The family would like to especially mahalo the following care providers and individuals: Dr. Mary Kingma-Noland, Rainbow Dialysis, Kaiser Permanente, Maui Health Center, the Emergency Room physicians and nurses, The Maui Fire Department (Station 2), MEO Transportation, Hospice Maui, Father Robert Nunu of St. Rita’s Church and Esther Yap.
Services will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at St. Rita’s Church in Haiku, Maui. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:30 A.M. followed by Mass. Lunch to follow.