Rapid City – LeRoy Joseph Grohs, 87, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was gently welcomed to heaven on Saturday night, May 23rd, 2026.

Born December 28th, 1938, in Jerauld County, SD, to Fredrick and Rose Grohs, LeRoy was the youngest of ten children. He grew up around Wessington Springs, SD, graduating from the town’s namesake High School in 1956 before attending the Sioux Falls Presentation School of Nursing, where he graduated in 1959. In 1965, he completed the Sacred Heart Hospital anesthesia program in Yankton, South Dakota. LeRoy worked as a nurse anesthetist for 35 years at hospitals in Watertown, Yankton and throughout Rapid City, where he settled with his family in 1973. He then “retired” into part-time work at Osheim & Schmidt (Catron) Funeral Home for another 15 years. LeRoy was an American patriot and served his country as a Captain in the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War in 1968. His organized mind helped him plan and coordinate an abundance of community events, whether for the hospital where he worked, as a leader of Boy Scouts or the church where he worshipped as a devout Catholic.

On September 17th, 1960, he married his wife, Judith, and together they built a life and legacy over the next 65 years. The marriage was a paragon, inspiring everyone around them as they navigated the inevitable tides of life, not without problems, but always through them. LeRoy was instilled with a wanderlust that could never be quieted, and he traveled locally and internationally throughout his life. He and Judy could boast that they’ve set foot in every one of the United States. He was a smooth and avid dancer, as quick on his feet as he was with his wit. If you were one of the many who played a game of cards with him, you were undoubtedly subject to at least one of his sharp jests, regardless of whether you won or lost.

LeRoy will be remembered when beers clink over a debaucherous happy hour story and when songs are hummed to babies being rocked to sleep. His spirit will be known when friends and family gather over hot coffee and breakfast platters and when the church praises God’s love every Sunday. He is remembered loudly, colorfully, and vigorously by everyone lucky enough to know him. He was endlessly generous, loving, and stubborn, traits he’s blessed all of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with. His mark on the world lives on through them every day.

LeRoy is preceded in death by his parents Fred and Rose; older brothers Herb, Wilfred, Ralph, Victor, Paul, Don, and Jerome; son-in-law Mark (Darin); and daughter-in-law Kristi (Doran). He is survived by his sisters, Marie and Deloris. He is also survived by his family, of whom he was the most proud: his wife, Judy; their children, Barbara (Brian), Dana (Alison), Darin, and Doran (April); his grandchildren, Nathan (Amanda), Tiffany (Ollie), Brandon, Jessica (Carlos), Heather, Dylan, and Camden; and his great-grandchildren, Wyatt, Abby, Logan, Hailey, and Charlotte.

Our Lady of the Black Hills Catholic Church will be hosting a visitation for LeRoy on Thursday, May 28th from 4pm – 6pm with a rosary and vigil starting at 6pm.

Our Lady of the Black Hills Catholic Church, located at 12365 Sturgis Road, Piedmont, SD 57769, will hold a service for the repose of his soul on Friday, May 29th at 10am.

A graveside service will be held Monday, June 1st at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD at 12:30pm with full military honors.