David Cliff Grove
May 24, 2023
David Cliff Grove, Ph.D., of Gainesville passed away on May 24, 2023, following a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was born on October 17, 1935, in Youngstown, Ohio, the first child of Harriet Elizabeth “Betty” Cliff Grove and Donald Everett Grove. His parents moved to Los Angeles soon afterwards, and their son grew up in Westwood with his two younger sisters, Susan Grove Phalen and Gretchen Grove. In 1957 he married Margaret Celia Marshall, who preceded him in death, the mother of his three children: David Andrew Grove, Donald Scott Grove, and Becky Grove Fasth. In 1985 he married Susan Dale Gillespie.
Dr. Grove earned B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles, and in 1968 began a distinguished academic career specializing in the archaeology of ancient Mexico. He held positions in Anthropology departments at the State University of New York at Binghamton (1968-1970) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1970-2001). Upon his retirement as Professor Emeritus and relocation to Gainesville in 2001, he was granted a Courtesy Professorship in Anthropology at the University of Florida.
Dr. Grove directed several archaeological digs in various parts of central Mexico, but is best known for his work at the Olmec-affiliated site of Chalcatzingo. He authored or edited eight books and monographs, and published dozens of journal articles and professional book chapters. Among his awards and honors, he was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, winner of the Alfred Vincent Kidder Award for Eminence in Archaeology of the American Anthropological Association, and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He is survived by his wife, three children, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, two sisters and their husbands, seven brothers- and sisters-in-law, 13 nieces and nephews, 14 grand-nieces and nephews, and three great-grand nieces and nephew. The family suggests any memorials be made to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida or Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure
View current weather.
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
You taught me a love of science and critical thinking. You taught me a love of the outdoors and gentle kindness
Thank you for being my dad
I am so grateful that you were my Dad.
What a wonderful gift Dave was to the world and to all who knew him. I'll miss your wacky sense of humor most of all.
Dave was a wonderful brother-in-law who brought laughter, joy, and adventures to my sister Susan. He will be missed.
What a guy! A great travel companion–I just wish we could have done more–and a caring husband to my sister. Slainte, Dave on your trip through the last portal.
Mere words cannot describe the wonderful person who is my Dad. He was funny, engaging, passionate, and warm. While we were separated by great physical distances, he has always been and will continue to be very close to my heart. The memories I carry are, indeed, a blessing.
I don't know what it was that made me think of Professor Grove today, but I did. I decided to Google him and found this obituary regarding his recent passing. I was an anthropology student at the U of I and took several classes from Professor Grove starting in the fall of 1982. I did not pursue graduate studies in anthropology, but what I learned from Professor Grove was that you needed to follow your passion and to do work that feeds your soul. And so I'm very glad to have been his student. His love of the archaeology and prehistory of Mexico was inspiring. He was also one of those professors who recognized my talents and encouraged me at a time when I really needed encouragement and someone to believe in me. The individual attention Professor Grove gave to me was — and still is — of immeasurable worth. Thank you, Professor Grove. I hope you get this message, wherever you are.
I am so glad to have known Dave–the leader of the Gillespie 'outlaws' as he styled himself. Dave, you will be missed but we have our memories.
Dave Grove was a wonderful human being, a fabulous teacher, an absolutely superb archaeologist, incomparable mentor, and a friend beyond compare for all those lucky enough to have known him well. As the testimonials make clear he was also a wonderful father, and brother, and I can only imagine a super grandfather too. He was the one who saw potential in me when I started college and more than anyone else was responsible for my having made a career–and life–out of archaeology. I was so deeply honored and lucky to have studied and worked and laughed with him for so many years. He'll be deeply missed, so very much, but always bring a smile to the faces of his legion of admirers.