Obituary of Ileen Fogarty Groves

Ileen Fogarty Groves died at home on February 7, 2024 in Soledad, CA following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family and will be greatly missed.

 

Ileen was born on October 7, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts to John “Jack” Fogarty and Ruth (Donovan) Fogarty. She was married for 31 years to Barry Groves. In addition to her husband, Ileen is survived by her children, Rebecca (Douglas) Kinyo, Richard Semersky, Matthew (Lynn) Semersky, Jacob Semersky and her step-children, Tracy (Brad) Loetz, Carter (Lynette) Groves, Katy Groves, and Kelly (Adam) Curry. She was a devoted grandmother to 7 grandchildren and 11 step-grandchildren, as well as a loving sister to her 6 siblings: Anne Green, Kathy (Lou) Panetta, Tim Fogarty, Jean (Bob Downing) Fogarty, Liz (Dan) Cotter, And Phil (Sally) Fogarty.

 

Ileen lived in Ohio most of her life, raising her children while working as an educator, a food service administrator, and a project administrator with a Fortune 500 company, before “retiring” to Monterey County in 2011. For over a decade, Ileen built up a successful bookkeeping franchise, Bookkeeping Express (later wholly owned as Bookkeeping Central), building relationships with many local business owners and community members. Her involvement in the community and passion for “giving back” is evident from her work with Meals on Wheels, Sun Street Centers and the United Way. She gave of herself, and the community responded in kind, as evidenced by her many accolades and awards, including the Littlefield Lifetime Achievement Award and Volunteer of the Year awards for the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. In 2013 She was awarded “Franchisee of the year”. In 2018 The Professional Women’s Network named her “Woman of the Year”

 

Near and dear to her heart was ARIEL Theatrical in Salinas. She supported them as a donor as well as a performer. It was a true joy in her life to be involved in many ARIEL productions and to be embraced by that community. The ARIEL family was, in many ways, her family. She spoke so highly of the children that one would think they were her grandchildren too.

 

As tenacious and steadfast as Ileen was in her professional life and in her community involvement, she was even more-so when it came to her family. Nothing could stop her from being there to celebrate a milestone or provide comfort to a family member, regardless of physical distance or her own circumstances. Family meant everything to Ileen and she lived to her last day with that focus and devotion, teaching the rest of us what it meant to love.

 

A Memorial Mass is scheduled for Friday, February 16^th at 10:00 AM at St. Theodore’s Parish in Gonzalez. Ileen’s family will be available at the church for visitation prior to the service starting at 9:00 AM.

 

In lieu of flowers, please donate to ARIEL Theatrical with gifts directed to the Ileen Groves Memorial Fund. Mail: P.O. Box 1268 Salinas, CA 93902 or Donate Online: http://tinyurl.com/mrx7sxth

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