Estella Hadley (Hadley) Groover

Obituary

Estella Hadley Groover was the first of 15 children born to Elder King Dennis and Rosetta James Hadley. She was born October 14, 1921, on her grandparents’, Richard and Lula Reid
Hadley, property, in Grady County, Georgia. The community was called Duncansville, but later the name was changed to Beachton, Georgia. Sister Groover departed this life on February 18, 2023. She was married to the late Henry Godfield Groover on May 17, 1942. He preceded her in death in 1979. Her parents, three sisters, and five brothers preceded her in death also. The siblings were Pastor John Dennis (1st Viola (d), 2nd Virginia (d)), Lloyd Curtis (1st Annie M. (d), 2nd Sadie (d)), Ella Rea, Herbert Hoover (Cynthia (d)), Morris Brown (Raphine (d)), Dr. Rosa Louise Hadley, Catherine Delano Hadley Robinson (Mack (d)), and Richard Livingston (1st Grace (d), 2nd Patricia (d)).

She is survived by Lula Hadley McGriff Walden (the late George), James Jack Hadley (Christine), Dr. Marie Hadley Robinson (the late Emmett), Agnes Hadley Adams (Dr. Charles), Naomi Hadley
Monroe (the late Jerry), and Lillie Hadley Witherspoon; sisters-in-law, Alice Henderson Hadley and Lauretta Gibbs Hadley; and a host of nieces and nephews, relatives, and friends.

Sister Groover graduated from Douglass High School in Thomasville, Georgia, in 1940. Her plans were to work one year and then attend Fort Valley State College. Plans changed. She met Henry at Archbold Hospital where they both worked. They were married two years later. After five years of marriage, Henry wanted Estella to become a stay-at-home wife. While at home, she took on sewing as a hobby, and it eventually became a home business, making clothing for children and adults and small dolls and animal cloth toys and bridal wears.

During Sister Groover’s mid years, she served as a domestic employee for Mrs. Henry Moore (28 years) and Dr. Ben Grace (20 years). She contracted meningitis in 2002. As a result of the tragic
illness of meningitis, she was left deaf and unable to walk. She took that tragic situation and turned it into a triumphant experience during the last 20 years of her life, giving Bible studies in the nursing home and writing two books while in the nursing home.

Sister Groover grew up in the Ochlocknee Baptist Church and later joined St. Mark AME Church after her marriage. In 1982, Sister Groover responded to the call and became a baptized member of the First Seventh-day Adventist Church. She served as a community service leader and in many other positions in the church until her tragic illness in 2002. Prior to her illness, she started writing her autobiography, The Daughter of A Plantation Worker, with her computers provided by Dr. Henry Moore, Jr. That book was completed in 2009 after she recovered from her illness but still in the
nursing home. In 2014, Sister Groover completed her second book, a cookbook, Cooking With Love. Contact the Jack Hadley Black History Museum.

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