Ora Junior Groff, the son of Ora Franklin and Lena Mae (Blankenship) Groff, was born February 12, 1924, at Peru, Nebraska. Junior attended schools at the Old District 16 in Pawnee City, Nebraska, and graduated from Peru High School in 1941.

Junior entered the United States Army in 1943 and trained in North Carolina and England. He landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He was with CO A, 115th Infantry, 29th Division Blue and Gray, of the 9th United States Army, from Omaha Beach to the Elbe River, until the end of the war. Junior earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct, American Campaign, Europe-Africa and WWII Victory Medals. He was a Purple Heart Veteran, wounded in action, but sent back to finish out the war. A main objective of the 29th Division was to take St. Lo., a French town. It was a proud time in his life after reaching the objective. He was a member of the American Legion Post #8, Nebraska City, Nebraska. Upon returning home from the war, he was united in marriage to Norma Louise Boyer of Tabor, Iowa, on February 23, 1947, in Olathe, Kansas.

Junior operated the family farm from 1951 until the present time with the help of partners. He helped run the Malvern, Iowa, Sale Barn and the Rock Port Sales Pavilion. He also ran a gun shop for 26 years out of his home. Nothing ever compared to his love of the farm and raising cattle. He passed away March 21, 2011, at the VA Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 87 years.

Besides his parents, Junior was preceded in death by his sister, Vivian Groff; brother, Darrell Groff; sister-in-law, Janice Groff; brothers-in-law, Eugene Gilmore and Max Davis. Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Norma Groff and son, Dale Groff, both of Rock Port; sisters, Dorothy Gilmore and Wilma Jean Davis, Rock Port, Janet Kimble and her husband, George, Deepwater, Missouri; brothers, Larry Groff and his wife, Frances, Maryville, Missouri, William Morrison and his wife, Wanda, Santa Fe, New Mexico; sister-in-law, Mary Jane Groff, Maryville; two grandsons, Brian and Gary Groff; great-granddaughter, Caitlyn Aston Groff; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral Service:
2:00 p.m., Sunday, March 27, 2011, Minter Funeral Chapel, Rock Port.
Interment: London Cemetery, Auburn, Nebraska.
The Family will receive friends: 1:00-1:50 p.m., Sunday, March 27, 2011, at Minter Funeral Chapel, prior to the service.
Memorials: Junior Groff Memorial Fund.
Services: Minter Funeral Chapel.
Online obituaries and condolences at www.minterfuneralchapels.com.