Loren DeGroot

Loren DeGroot

Nixa, Mo.

Cherished husband, father and grandfather, Loren DeGroot, entered into heaven on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, from his home in Nixa, Mo., at the age of 87.

Loren E. DeGroot was born on May 30, 1935, in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Edward & Edna Mae (Dykhuizen) DeGroot. He graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids and earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. He also proudly served in the United States Navy beginning in 1953 and was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant J.G. in 1967.

Loren had an extensive career in the aerospace industry. He worked with Lear Siegler and then Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The most important part of Loren’s life centered around Christ and his family. He married the love of his life, Joyce Swifink, on June 15, 1956, at the Immanuel Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. Loren loved Jesus and was faithful as a deacon and elder in the churches they attended, Brookside in Grand Rapids, First Covenant in Cedar Rapids and Beechwood in Holland, Mich.

Loren leaves behind his wife, Joyce DeGroot; his children, Lori and Butch Stuckert of Green Bay, Wis., Cheryl and Doug Gabriel of Branson, Mo., Christine and Dan Nuckolls of Nixa, Mo., and Steve and Cheryl DeGroot of San Tan Valley, Ariz., along with his 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Loren was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Robert Benjamin DeGroot.

Funeral services will be Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, at 11 a.m. in Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home and Crematory, Branson. Burial with military honors will follow in Ozarks Memorial Park Cemetery, Branson.

In Loren’s honor, memorials are requested to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.