H. Tobin "Toby" Groves

A Celebration of the Life of Toby Groves

Henry Tobin Groves…known to everyone as “Toby,” was born on July 31, 1920 in Fulton, Kentucky. He received a BA in Chemistry from Evansville College (IN) and worked as a refrigeration specialist. In 1944, he met Dorothy Ruston and they broke dates with others to be together on New Year’s Eve 1944. It must have been a magical evening because they got married five weeks later on February 3, 1945 and they were married for 65 years. Thereafter they lived in Minneapolis, MN for a short time and eventually moved to Southern California in 1958. He worked for several Aerospace companies in Burbank, Culver City, Santa Monica and Van Nuys, where he developed and designed electronic microcircuits.

Toby and Rusty traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, East Africa, Polynesia, Australia and the Far East. They especially enjoyed Hawai‘i and visited all of the main islands many times from 1969 through 2005. Toby was an ardent LA Dodgers fan and was fortunate to have seen them play in Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY, The LA Memorial Coliseum and, of course, Dodger Stadium. In fact, he recently switched cable providers to get all the home games. He enjoyed all forms of humor especially bad puns and off-color limericks. Besides Rusty, his joy in life was singing and he was a long-time member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet-Singing in America and was a mainstay in several choruses from the 1950’s through 2016. 

Following retirement from Litton Industries, Toby enclosed a home patio and converted it into a clock shop where he repaired clocks for family, friends, neighbors and clients for nearly 30 years. He didn’t do it for profit but for the fun and challenge of keeping everybody on time. Early on, he noted that he never had any idea that there were so many busted clocks in Ventura County. 

Family was always his pride and joy and he was proud of his kids, grandkids, great grandkids and their numerous accomplishments throughout the years. Please celebrate his long and interesting life with us today!

July 31, 1920 to March 3, 2018

Married to Dorothy Ruston on February 3, 1945

Children: Melissa, Lindsey and Joel

Grandchildren: Tobin and Robyn

Great grandchildren: Winter and Henry

...Family in the care of Erin Arteaga, Funeral Director