Former Lancaster mayor, councilman Groves dies
LANCASTER — Former Lancaster City Councilman and Mayor Elsworth Groves has died. He was 87.
Groves was elected to the Lancaster City Council in 1986 and served one term, through 1990. He was mayor in 1988, during a time when the mayor was not directly
elected and Council members rotated terms in the position.
“The City Council and I are saddened to learn of the passing of former Lancaster Mayor Elsworth Groves,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said. “We are grateful for his years of service to our community and for inspiring future generations to serve as well, including his daughter, Planning Commission Vice Chair Sandy Smith, and his granddaughter, Deputy Mayor Keri Knittel. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mayor Groves’ family during this difficult time.”
Groves died at his Antelope Valley home on June 13.
He was born on July 15, 1933, in Hindsville, Arkansas, but his family moved several times during his youth, to Colorado, Washington, Nevada and Idaho before eventually settling in California.
Groves served in the Navy during the Korean War, signing up in 1951 with his brother, Ernie. The brothers were assigned to the destroyer USS Chauncey, until he was honorably discharged in 1954.
The following year Groves began a career in law enforcement with the California Corrections Department, assigned to the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
He moved on the California Highway Patrol in 1958, working in positions in Ventura, San Francisco, West Los Angeles, Oceanside and San Diego. After attending the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 1977, he took over the Antelope Valley CHP Office as a captain. He served there until retirement in 1987 following a head-on collision while on duty.
Following his CHP career, Grove obtained his real estate broker’s license and sold homes in the then-new Rancho Vista development. He was also a hearing officer and housing inspector for Los Angeles County.
Grove and his wife of 56 years, Philene, moved to Pioneer, California, and Bullhead City, Arizona, in retirement, but returned to the Antelope Valley.
In addition to his wife and daughter, Grove is survived by daughter Barbara McIver (and husband Ron) of Red Bluff, California; son Dan Groves (and wife Arlis) of Elk Grove, California; 12 grandchildren; and numerous great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Ernest, of Templeton, California.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to the CHP Widow’s and Orphans fund.