Donald Melvin Grooms, 95 of Boise, Idaho died Jan. 5
th
,
2016 at Avamere Transitional Care of natural causes. A funeral service will be held Monday,
January 11
th
, 2016, at 10 a.m. at the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel.
A viewing will start at 9 a.m. prior to the service. Burial will follow at
Terrace Lawn Cemetery.
Donald was born Sept. 13
th
, 1920 in Boise, Idaho
to Mabel Dick Grooms and Guy Melvin Grooms and grew up in the Boise area and
attended Boise High School. After
graduation he enlisted in the military when eighteen years old. There he showed great discipline and
dedication and was chosen to be a pilot in the Air Force. He served for eight years during and after
WWII, mainly flying into and around the Philippines and the Atlantic
Ocean. After Pearl Harbor, he was called
in to help and carry patients back to the mainland. On a break from his service he met and
married the love of his life, Charlotte M. Leistra Grooms. In July 1949, they adopted their son Guy
Frederick Grooms.
Donald enjoyed everything about nature and the
outdoors. He loved to hunt, fish, target
shoot, garden and go camping, and was an avid gun collector. Donald loved to host dinner parties in his
backyard where he enjoyed grilling for his family and friends. Donald was a very social man and people and
the community naturally gravitated towards him.
No matter how busy life got, his wife, son and the rest of his family
were at the top of his priority list.
Donald is survived by his daughter-in-law Sandra Grooms and
his four granddaughters and their families; Bonnie and Jared Fife and children,
Emma, Adalaide, Grace, Magnolia, Oliver, and Ramona; Rebecca Tegen and Dustin
Hansen and children, Frederick and Howard;
Hillary and Jared Waters and children, Valerie, Jackson, and
Jeffery; and Whitney and Kenneth
Weekes; his sister Annabelle Smitchger
and her children Sally, Grant and Paula and their families.
He was preceded in death by his mother, father, two brothers,
his wife Charlotte, son Guy Frederick and brother-in-law Dick Smitchger.
The family would like to thank Avamere Transitional Care for
the many things they did for Donald that were above and beyond their regular
duties, including the extra concern and affection was given and shown.
Memorials are suggested to the Idaho Youth Ranch or your own
favorite charity.