If there was ever anyone who could make the best of any situation, it was Jeff Groscost. Wow! He is such a builder! Jeff could see the positive opportunities when others saw only the negative. He went out of his way time after time to help others -- and I took my turn being one of the "others" many times. I do not doubt that Jeff Groscost had a deep reverance for his Savior and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- it showed in the way he treated others. Jeff was tenacious and strong-willed to his credit and to the benefit of all those he cared for and represented. I will always consider myself a beneficiary of Jeff's example and kindness. Jeff's friendship is an eternal blessing.

The opening paragraph in the Arizona Republic newspaper article read: "In April of 1997, forty eight valiant souls; thirty one members of the House of Representatives, sixteen Senators and the Governor of Arizona, joined together and passed the historic and revolutionary Scholarship Tax Credit Legislation, the first of its kind in the nation." 10 years later, the scholarship tax credit mechanism sends nearly 70,000 children in five states to a school of their parents choice. More than 90% of them attend a Christian based private school. It is the largest school choice program empowering parents in the entire nation. Only time will tell how many tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of children will ultimately find new hope in life through this legislation.However, it would never have occurred without the leadership and determined efforts of Jeff Groscost. He was a major force shepherding it through the Legislature for three years until it finally passed by one vote in both houses and went on to survive an ACLU challenge in the Arizona State Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.Every one of us intrinsically understands that the spiritual, social, and academic principles inculcated into the hearts and minds of our children establish, more than any other mortal factor, the paradigm of Americas future. Jeff Groscost knew it was far better to entrust children's parents to determine those principles rather than a government run bureaucracy.As the years come and go in the remaining American generations to come, untold multitudes of children will walk in the sunnier places on the higher roads of life because Jeff Groscost lived.Thank you, Jeff. Rest easy, Gallant Warrior.

Dana, Chad, Logan, Reagan, Gunnar, Griffin, and little Jesse...I can not even begin to tell the memories I have of Jeff. What a great man! Whether it was having him yank me to Sunday School, bringing us Krispie Kreams for home teaching (with a message of course), bringing Gunnar down to our house in a tux, or bringing the boys over the night before the pinewood derby to quickly throw a car together, there was never a dull moment. I will never forget Jeff and all the great times we had together. I hope you all know I am here for you. Always. I love you very much and truely appreciate everything you have done for me. Dana, I hope you know how much I love and care about you. It's such a blessing to know that when I need help, your just a couple yards down the street. You and Jeff both have been huge parts in my life and have built my testimony of the Gospel in such a way I will never be able to repay you. I love you so so much, and like Kyle said, if you ever need anything, you know we are here for you at a drop of a hat. Love always,

So many memories... where to begin?I remember Jeff's kindness and friendliness. He always greeted me warmly. Jeff was my home teacher for a period of time. He came every month, first with Chad, then with Logan, he cared about how we were doing, and showed that caring in his actions. I remember Jeff at Father-and-Son campouts, Scout campouts and hikes, and various ward functions. I never heard him complain, even when he was treated unfairly. I remember Jeff taking the Scouts down to the Capitol building and letting us see the house chambers, and letting us meet some other representatives. He always went the extramile to help us. I remember him helping my son Aaron with his Eagle Scout project, in all phases: planning, doing, and helping with the write-up. Jeff never gave ridicule or harsh words, or impatience. He was kind andhelpful. When he was called as the Bishop's First Counselor, I felt both joy and sadness. Joy because I knew he would be a great First Counselor (which he was, no doubt), and sadness because this meant that he would be leaving the Elders Quorum. He always had good remarks during the Elders Quorum lessons, and when he taught, it was special. He was always upbeat.Jeff Groscost was a good friend of mine, and he will be sorely missed. To Jeff's children: your father was, and still is, a great man. Alwaysremember his admonition, and honor him by honoring the Groscost name. Your father was loved by a great many people, and there is a reason for this. It was because he was a great man, who treated others as great.To Dana: Continue to keep Jeff in your memories, celebrate your anniversaries in the future, because your marriage is still in effect.

I had the great pleasure of working with Jeff beginning in 2005 on the National Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Conference held in Phoenix during 2006. I work for the hosting organization, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute. When Jeff walked in any room, you were instantly aware of his incredible presence. He always had a big smile, a warm hug and something funny to say. Your dad was ALWAYS positive, always moving forward, always thinking of ways to make the world a better place.

I have lots of memories of Jeff. It's such a great idea to document the memories. I only wish we had thought of it for Sam. I told some of these stories to my Dad, who shared them at the funeral, but I wanted to put them in writing.When Jeff came to stay with us in Germany, when he was a senior in high school, Rachel was the baby, about 1 year old I think. I was about 8 or 9. Jeff took a purple magic marker, one of those smelly grape Mr. Sketchys, and drew big circles all over Rachels chubby tummy, starting at her belly button. It seemed like he did it more than once, but then when the rest of us kids tried to draw on her tummy, we got in trouble. It seems like he also drew circles on his own tummy. I thought it was so unfair that Jeff could get away with coloring Rachels tummy (because he was a guest, Im sure) but none of us other kids could, and it looked like so much fun.Jeff worked at an ice cream store when he was a teenager; I think it was Baskin Robbins. My Dad and I were flying back to Germany later in the day, but first we went to visit Jeff at the store with the rest of the Groscost family. I ordered a bubble gum cone. It was that nasty pink stuff with all the frozen gum balls in it. Jeff told either Kristin or Liza (I can't remember which) and I that he wanted to show us something really neat in the walk in freezer, so stupidly we followed him. He pushed us right into the freezer and locked the door, only my toe was caught in the door. I tried to scream but no-one could hear us through the door. Jeff just stood there laughing at us from the outside. He didn't know my toe was caught. When someone finally let us out, he felt really bad for smashing my toe, which I think ended up being broken. Later on the airplane back to Germany, I got a stomach ache and barfed up my pink ice cream with bubble gum balls all over the airplane lavatory.When I was 16, Jeff wanted me to help him drive from Provo to Mesa, but I didn't have my drivers license. Jeff took me to the DMV to get my license in a big red rented sedan, but before I took the test, he made me practice parallel parking about 5 times. After I finished the driving test, the instructor told me that he would have failed me except that I parallel parked perfectly. Jeff also signed the parental consent on my license. I enjoyed very much the 10 hour drive to Mesa, listening to Jeff tell story after story.When Steve and I were engaged, we asked Jeff to send us some diamonds to look at for an engagement ring. But we were starving students, and we needed a place to live and a car, and we didn't want to go into debt so we sent the diamonds back and said we would get one later when we could afford it. I was happy with a wedding band. A few days later, I got a package in the mail from Jeff and Dana. In it was a beautiful gold ring with a cubic zircon set in it and a note from Jeff telling me to replace it with a real diamond when we could afford it. I still wear that same ring, but several years later, Steve did replace it with a beautiful diamond. It meant a lot to me that Jeff and Dana would do that for us.Im sure I remember things in a slightly different way than Jeff, but he won't be able to defend himself until we meet again. I hope you enjoy reading the memories as much as I enjoyed remembering them. Lots of Love,