Deacon Charles DeGroat Jr.

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Deacon Charles DeGroat Jr., who served at St. Ann Church in Nyack for 16 years, died in his sleep Jan. 25. He was 92.

Deacon DeGroat was at St. Ann’s from his ordination to the permanent diaconate in 2004 until his retirement in 2020. He was engaged in the liturgical and spiritual life of the parish, was a Knight of Columbus, served in the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and visited hospitals and nursing homes.

Deacon DeGroat entered St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, at age 71, where he studied for the diaconate and earned a master’s degree in religious studies, before being ordained by Cardinal Egan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Born in Oneonta, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Manhattan College, the Bronx, and a law degree from Fordham Law. After graduating from law school, he opened a law office in West Haverstraw and served as village attorney there for more than 30 years.

His children, Charles DeGroat, Stephen DeGroat and Kathleen Benz; grandchildren, Nicholas and Jessica Benz, and Christopher, Phillip, Michael, Gregory, Matthew and Nicole DeGroat; and his sister, Mary Jo Carlon, survive him. His wife of 55 years, Rose, predeceased him.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 29 at St. Ann’s. Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen was the celebrant and Deacon Thomas Luke Conroy delivered the homily. Burial was in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Haverstraw.

Deacon Charles DeGroat Jr.