Mary Focht Groves

A native of Iowa and longtime resident of Akron, Ohio, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mary Reed Focht Groves died in Baton Rouge on November 6, 2025, at the age of 88. She attended the University of Iowa, where she met her future husband, Larry Focht, and later finished her degree at LSU. After their marriage, Mary and Larry moved to Baton Rouge and started their family before settling in Akron, where they were active members of Woodland UMC. Mary returned to Baton Rouge when she married her second husband, Frank Groves, in 2001.

Mary enjoyed backpacking with her family in the mountains, cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, collecting Belleek china, and wearing her matching rings, earrings, and necklaces of almost every known gemstone. An avid bridge player, her competitive streak extended beyond card games to board games, especially Scrabble. She loved watching sports, whether it was the LSU Tigers, the Iowa Hawkeyes, or her grandchildren competing.

Mary is survived by her three children, James (Nancy) Focht, Gary (Lisa) Focht, Kathleen (Mark) Fortney; six grandchildren, Christopher, Caroline, Michael, Stephen (Kara), Matthew, Jared; one great-grandchild, Oliver; a stepson, Frank D. Groves; two step-grandchildren, Sara and Mark; six step great-grandchildren, Greyson, Juliette, Nora, Adaline, Charlotte and Hudson. She is also survived by three sisters and a brother, Marilyn (Errol) McAlexander, Linda (Ed) Binic, Vickie (Jim) Nicoll, Dick (Patsy) Reed.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Fern Reed; husband of 41 years, Lawrence G. Focht; and second husband, Frank R. Groves.

The family thanks the caregivers and nurses at St. James Place who were kind and attentive to “Ms. Mary.”

Services will be held in Akron and Baton Rouge. Burial will take place at Rose Hill Burial Park in Akron on Friday, November 14, at 2:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, December 18, at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, with a visitation from 10:00 a.m. until the service at 11:00.