Meet Our Staff

A respected funeral director, Fred was born in 1952 and grew up in Lancaster, PA. He graduated from the Mercersburg Academy in 1970 and later from Stetson University in 1974 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. He also graduated from Catonsville Community College in 1975 with a degree in Mortuary Science.

Fred married Robin Shoop Groff in 1974. He and Robin live in New Holland and are the parents of two sons. Robert F. Groff IV is an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Robert is married to Stephanie, and they have one daughter, Isabella. Daniel W. Groff is a Project Manager for Assured Solar Energy in North Yarmouth, ME. Daniel is married to Kyle, and they have one son, Ellis. 

Fred's funeral career began in Baltimore in 1975 when he worked for the Henry W. Jenkins Funeral Home and the William E. Johnson Funeral Home. In 1976, he moved to Lexington, KY, and worked for the Milward Funeral Homes. Fred returned to Lancaster in the fall of 1976. In January of 1977, he moved to New Holland to operate the George D. High Funeral Home in connection with the family business, Fred F. Groff, Inc.

Fred operated the Groff-High Funeral Home in New Holland from 1977 to 1980 when his firm merged with the C. Stanley Eckenroth Home for Funerals in Terre Hill, PA. He then operated the Groff-High-Eckenroth Funeral Home in New Holland and Terre Hill until 1985 when he purchased the business and real estate from his father. In 1999, he purchased the Beck Funeral Home, Inc. in New Holland from Edgar O. Beck.

Professionally, Fred is a member of the Selected Independent Funeral Homes, National Funeral Directors Association, Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, and Lancaster County Funeral Directors Association as a former board member.

Fred has also been a leader in other local organizations. Formerly, he served as Past Board Chair of Wellspan Ephrata Community Hospital, also serving on the Executive Committee, Quality Management Committee and as a board member. He formerly served on the Wellspan Health Board and chaired its Quality Committee, and was a member of the Executive Committee and Compensation Committee. At Trinity Lutheran Church in New Holland, Fred has served as former President of Church Council and currently serves on the Outreach and Cemetery committees. He is also a member of the church choir and has sung with the Gap Male Chorus for the past 30 years. He is a member of the New Holland Rotary Club and the New Holland Business Association. He serves as President of the Lancaster Aero Club, where he maintains his love of flying as an instrument rated Private Pilot. 

Fred enjoys golf, flying, recreation in Ocean City, MD, and spending time in Atlanta with his granddaughter, Isabella, and in Maine with his grandson, Ellis. You may contact him by phone or by emailing him at fgroff@groffeckenroth.com.

Loren has been affiliated with the funeral home since 1988. A native of Belleville, PA, he graduated from the Belleville Mennonite High School. He then received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Eastern Mennonite University and a diploma in Funeral Service from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He received his funeral director's license in 1989 following his internship at the Heffner Funeral Home of York.

Professionally, he is a former board member of the Lancaster County Funeral Director's Association, a member of the Pennsylvania Funeral Director's Association, and the National Funeral Director's Association. He also is a licensed life insurance agent in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of providing a funding vehicle for persons to prepay funeral expenses. Following additional training and testing, he received his Certified Preplanning Consultant designation from the National Funeral Directors Association.

Locally, he is a member of James Street Mennonite Church and has been a past board member of Upward Call Counseling Service in New Holland.

Loren is married to Judy (King) Bender, a retired Oncology Nurse. They reside in New Holland and are the parents of two adult children:  Jonathan, an IT Developer at Hoober's, Inc. in Intercourse and Christy, a Registered Dietician at AHN Cancer Institute - Jefferson Hills, PA.

Randy joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in October of 2017. He is graduate of Lancaster Mennonite High School, received his B.S.B.A. from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, and his diploma in Funeral Service from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. 

He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, and the Lancaster County Funeral Directors Association. 

Randy and his family attend Grace Community Church in Willow Street. His interests include hunting, fishing, and golfing. For the past number of years, he has enjoyed traveling to Lake Kipawa in Quebec with his family for a week of fishing and relaxation. 

He has been married 39 years to Melanie Barge Stoltzfus, who works at Keystone Wood Specialties. They have three sons and one grandson, Asa. Dr. Clarke G. Stoltzfus, MD, married to Emily Cebulski Stoltzfus, is a resident at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey. Grant and Bradley Stoltzfus are both employed by the Pennsylvania State Department of Corrections at SCI Huntingdon as Corrections Officers.

You may contact him by phone or by emailing him at rstoltzfus@groffeckenroth.com.

Michaeline joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in May of 2021. She is a graduate of Garden Spot High School, Class of 2016, after graduation she completed her general studies at Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster Campus and received her Diploma in Funeral Service from Northampton Community College, Class of 2019. Michaeline is originally from Elverson, PA and currently resides in East Earl, PA with her dog, Sequoyah. She is a member and holds the Vice President and Secretary position for Twin Valley Fire Department, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star #460, a former president and current board member of the Lancaster County Funeral Directors Association, a member of The Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and The National Funeral Directors Association. She loves going line dancing, traveling to the beach and Huntingdon, PA.

You may contact her by phone or emailing her at mrogers@groffeckenroth.

David J. McKinney Jr.  joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in October of 2024. He was born in Lancaster and grew up not too far from New Holland in Strasburg. He is a graduate of Lampeter-Strasburg High School, HACC, Immaculata University, and Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. Prior to becoming a licensed funeral director, David worked for 22 years in Emergency Medical Services, first as an EMT and then as a Paramedic.

He and his wife, Amanda, have been married since 2005 and have two children: Troy and Owen. They currently reside in Rising Sun, MD, with their cocker spaniel, Solly. David and his family worship at First Presbyterian Church in Smyrna, DE, where he is an ordained Elder. In his free time, David enjoys spending time with his family at the beach and in the mountains, watching Owen play football and Troy cross country run. The entire family is heavily involved in their local cub scout pack and boy scout troop.

Professionally, he is the Vice President of the Lancaster County Funeral Directors Association and a member of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association.   

You may contact him by phone or by emailing him at dmckinney@groffeckenroth.com

Joyce has been with Groff-High Eckenroth Funeral Home as an Administrative Assistant since May 2016.

Joyce formerly lived in Shade Gap, PA and graduated from Southern Huntington County High School. She and husband Greg were married in 1980, and have one daughter Jennifer, married to Gregg Michael of New Holland, and 4 grandchildren. 

Joyce and Greg were Co-Owners of New Holland Camera from 1989-2008. Joyce then worked at the New Holland Recreation Center as Business Manager and Membership Director before coming to Groff-High.

In her space time Joyce enjoys quilting, gardening and spending time with her grandchildren, Harry Townsend, Christian, Hannah and Caitlin Michael.

You may contact her by phone or by emailing her at jdyer@groffeckenroth.com.

Susan has been with the funeral home since 2008 serving as the Aftercare Coordinator. She enjoys following up with families in the weeks after the services and helping to guide them through the many details that need to be taken care of after the death of a loved one. 

She graduated from Garden Spot High School and HACC with an Associates Degree in Human Services. She and her husband, Jim, have lived in New Holland since they were married in 1984. They have one son, Nathaniel, who is married to Katelyn, and two granddaughters. 

She and Jim are members of Calvary Church in Lancaster, where they serve in various roles. Susan enjoys hosting guests in their home and babysitting her granddaughters. Traveling is also a big part of her life. Susan and Jim enjoy seeing the US and other countries around the world. 

You may contact her by phone or by emailing her at smartin@groffeckenroth.com.

David Maclay joined Groff-High-Eckenroth on December 5, 2016 as a funeral assistant and is in charge of facilities maintenance and upkeep for all the funeral home locations. Before working for the funeral home, he previously worked as a carpenter and also a personal caretaker for thirty-four years. Dave and his wife Julie were married in 1981, both born and raised in New Holland. After they were married they continued to reside in New Holland, where they raised their two sons, Adam and Cullen. He is a Garden Spot High School graduate, Class of 1976. He has many interests and hobbies that you can often find him doing, such as working on antique gas engines, gardening, and BBQing with friends and family. He is an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoys going to his hunting cabin in Huntingdon County as often as he can.

Amos joined Groff-High-Eckenroth as a funeral assistant in the fall of 2020. Having grown up in the Morgantown, PA, area, he taught at Conestoga Christian School and served as pastor of Rockville Mennonite Church for 23 years. 

After resigning in 2003, he served with EMM (Eastern Mennonite Missions) for 14 years. Five of those years, he and his wife, Rowenna, lived in India. More recently, he has been working with and helping churches as an interim pastor and spiritual adviser. Now semi-retired, Amos and his wife live in the Fivepointville, PA, area.

Ed joined Groff-High-Eckenroth as a support staff, January 1 2022. He was born in Ephrata and grew up in Reamstown and graduated from Cocalico High School in 1973. Ed and his wife , Colleen were married on September 30, 1978 and are the parents of two children and four grandchildren and they reside in East Earl. He worked for forty eight years at Case New Holland (formerly Sperry New Holland) as an engineering shop tech and retired June 1, 2021. In his spare time, he likes going to the beach and the mountains, walking, cooking and working around the house. They attend New Life Fellowship in Ephrata, where he is actively involved with the worship team.

Bruce joined the staff at Groff-High-Eckenroth in December of 2021 as support staff. 

He grew up in Northeastern Lancaster County and graduated from Garden Spot High School in 1976. He worked for 44 years at Case New Holland and retired in March of 2021 as an engineering shop tech. 

He married to Jackie, and they have three children and six grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family and following the grandchildren’s sports. He likes hunting, fishing, and trapping. He spends a lot of time in the mountains but also enjoys the beach. 

Jim joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in October of 2022. He graduated from Biglerville High School in 1978 and attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He has lived in Eastern Lancaster County since 1983. 

Jim has served in full-time Christian ministry as a pastor and church planter and also served in an administrative role with Eastern Mennonite Missions. In addition, he has worked for several community banks, most recently employed as a Consumer and Small Business Credit Manager. 

Jim is married and resides in Terre Hill. He has two sons and four grandchildren.

Richard joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in February of 2023. He retired in June 2023 after 32 years of teaching in the ELANCO School District. During this time he was responsible for directing the marching band, concert band, jazz band, and middle school band in addition to numerous music electives. He also retired from the USAF and the PA Air National Guard in January 2020 after 35 years of honorable service. During this time he has served as Chief of Supply, Director of Training, and First Sergeant. He was deployed twice to the Middle East and provided mission support in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Richard is married to Janet Fitz and they have three daughters, Katie, Kendra, and Karoline.

Stan joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in March 2024. He was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and graduated from the University of Waterloo with degrees in Environmental Studies and Peace Studies. 

In the early 1980s, Stan moved to the United States to attend seminary. Since then, he has served churches in Indiana, Arizona, and most recently, in Lancaster, PA. At the end of 2023, he retired from pastoral ministry after 40 plus years and has been working part-time at several jobs in the area. 

Stan is married to Kathy Keener Shantz, who is a music therapist at Hershey Medical Center and Masonic Village. They have two daughters. Kristi, their oldest, attended Arizona State University and now lives in Tempe, AZ. Kayleena, the younger, is a graduate from Temple University and lives in Philadelphia. 

Stan enjoys drinking coffee with friends, reading, fishing, hiking, and camping. He and his wife live in Lancaster, PA (Blossom Hill area).

James joined Groff-High-Eckenroth in April 2024. He was born on a farm adjacent to New Holland, lived his teen years on the family farm in Brecknock Township, and graduated from Governor Mifflin High School in 1957. James always enjoyed singing and inspiring others to sing, was the Director of "Voices of Victory Chorus", and continues to regularly lead congregational singing. James served for 30 years in Lay & Pastoral Ministries at S. 7th St. Mennonite Church in Reading, and as Interim Pastor of Red Run Mennonite Church for 3 ½ years. After graduate studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, the last years of his ministry until his retirement in 2015, were on Staff of Lancaster Mennonite Conference, serving as Minister of Stewardship and Congregational Consultant. James was married to Betty Weaver and they were blessed to live out their life goal, "Each for the Other, and Both for the Lord" for over 62 years (1960-2022). James resides at Landis Homes, has four children, twelve grandchildren, and an increasing number of great grandchildren.

Ray joined the staff at Groff-High-Eckenroth in March of 2025.  He graduated from Evangelical Seminary and is now retired after serving as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 25 years.  

Ray grew up in New Holland and met his wife, Valerie, at Garden Spot High School as they were both part of the graduating class in 1982. 

They were married in 1986 and now have two children and four grandchildren. Ray is a member and chaplain of the West Earl Fire Company in Brownstown and enjoys travel and spending time with family.