Harry Theodore “Ted” Groat, a retired faculty member at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), passed away in Bowling Green, Ohio on February 22, 2025. He was 92 years old.
Ted was born on October 10, 1932, in Sturgis, Michigan, to Harry Richard Groat and Dorothy (Clugston) Groat. He grew up in LaGrange, Indiana, and graduated from LaGrange High School in 1950. He attended his father’s alma mater, DePauw University, for two years, then transferred to BGSU for his final two undergraduate years. While at DePauw, during the Korean War, Ted enrolled in Air Force ROTC, which he continued while at Bowling Green. Upon graduation from BGSU in 1954, Ted was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He became an Information Services Officer at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, WA, and was eventually discharged from the inactive Air Force reserves at the rank of captain. With the support of the G.I. Bill, Ted returned to BGSU for his Master’s Degree in sociology. He then enrolled at Brown University, where he received his Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in demography. In 1961, Ted was recruited by the BGSU sociology department to return as a faculty member.
During his many years at BGSU, Ted was a member of the Faculty Senate, Liberal Arts Council, President’s Advisory Committee, and other initiatives to foster research and develop a Ph.D. program in sociology. In 1964, Ted was among the University’s first faculty recipients of a Fulbright award for research and teaching abroad. Along with his first wife, Cynthia Stong, he traveled to East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) to establish a curriculum in sociology and anthropology at a new university in Rajshahi, while also researching fertility and family planning in the region. His studies were published in leading journals and, with his friend and colleague Edward Stockwell, Ted co-authored a textbook on world population. He received BGSU’s first Faculty Research Award and President’s Special Achievement Award for his NIH-funded research, in collaboration with Arthur Neal, on social psychological aspects of fertility decision-making. He continued to contribute to this field of research for several years after his retirement in 1994.
Ted married Peggy Giordano in 1988. In addition to collaborating on several research studies, they loved the adventure of travel. Together, Ted and Peg enjoyed many trips, including visits with Ted’s son Andrew (Elizabeth) and grandchildren Connor and Cate, who lived in London, Abu Dhabi, and now reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ted and Peggy also enjoyed visiting his son Jonathan in Chicago and Michigan, and stepdaughter Caroline (Brian Woodcock) Giordano, who lives in Ann Arbor. Ted’s and Peg’s dogs and lake cottage in the Irish Hills were also cherished parts of their lives for many years.
Ted also loved classical music, tennis, golf, gardening, fishing and all aspects of nature. He was an avid reader of history and classic fiction, devoured newspapers and enjoyed martinis. Ted long supported Falcon football and basketball, having attended games during fabulous seasons in the 1950s and 60s. In his local community, Ted’s volunteer activities included the City Tree Commission, working with the BGSU Retirees Association, and serving in two different wards as a precinct committee member for the Democratic Party. In his later years, Ted enjoyed researching and writing his memoirs, which span seven volumes covering virtually all stages of his long life. He was very nostalgic.
Ted’s oldest son, Jonathan, preceded him in death, along with his parents, sister Carol and brother Gary. In addition to his wife, Peggy, and Andrew’s and Caroline’s families, he is survived by nieces Diane (Steve) Luedtke, Laurie Oldfather, nephew David (Grayson) Oldfather and their families. Five years ago, Ted’s family expanded greatly via the “23andMe” discovery of his daughter, Martha (Wayne) Ulrich, of Parker, CO; two grandchildren, Brian (Megan) Ulrich and Rebecca (Jeffrey) Damm, and great-grandchildren! Were it not for modern science, he would never have known that a brief encounter in 1955, while attending an Air Force conference in Omaha, resulted in these now-loved family members.
A celebration of Ted’s life will be held at a later date. Tributes in Ted’s memory may be made to Planned Parenthood of Toledo, the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Foundation or the Sociology Department via the BGSU Foundation.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Dunn Funeral Home in Bowling Green.
