In honor of a friend

Funeral procession for veteran Gordon Groves draws large crowd to pay respects

The funeral procession for Gordon Groves draws a large crowd to pay respects in Auxvasse.
The funeral procession for Gordon Groves draws a large crowd to pay respects in Auxvasse.

Kingdom Telephone Company honored the late Gordon Groves in a funeral procession on July 2.

The former Vietnam veteran passed away suddenly on Saturday, June 27, and many gathered on Main Street in Auxvasse to pay their respects in the tribute to Groves and his family members.

In a Facebook post about the event, a representative of the Kingdom Telephone Company wrote, "Today we paid our respects to a friend, neighbor and a former co-worker, Gordon Groves. (He) was able to spend the last 10 years enjoying his wife, children and grandchildren... Gordon also loved his country. We hope he enjoyed the display we had for him today as he passed by to his final resting place."

Flags and people lined the sidewalk in tribute to their friend and former co-worker, an 18-year employee of Kingdom Telephone Company. Groves served in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Forrestal during the 1967 fire that killed and injured many sailors.

According to Jackie Lowe, marketing assistant at Kingdom Telephone Company, in an e-mail about the tribute procession, "Groves often spoke to groups of school children about his love of his country and his experiences on that day."