Deirdre DeVeny

Deirdre Elayne Groft DeVeny

February 15, 1961 – January 15, 2026

Deirdre Elayne Groft DeVeny, of York, passed away at her home Thursday, January 15, 2026. Dee was the first born of Dennis and Linden Crawford Groft. She was preceded in death by her father. Her mother passed away two weeks after Dee’s death. Dee was predeceased by her husband, Michael Owen DeVeny, who died in January 2008.

Dee is survived by her seven children, sons Michael (Zhenya) DeVeny, Alexander (Sasha) DeVeny, Owen (Matvei) DeVeny & his wife Xuan. Daughters Veronika (Vika) DeVeny, Merry DeVeny & her partner Chris Woodring, Viktoria DeVeny & her fiancé Josh Brown, Lada Hogue & her husband Andrew. She has two sweet grandsons Dawson Woodring and Ivan DeVeny. She is survived by her siblings Dawn Eppinger, Denise Hannan & her husband Eric, Sar Groft & his partner Christine Musser and cousin, Marcie DeRemer & her husband Lee. She leaves behind a multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and other extended family.

God called Dee home to heaven and His presence after battling the devastating effects of a head-on automobile accident over 13 months ago. It is a tribute to her indomitable spirit, strength, courage and will to live that she endured the many surgeries, hospital stays, nursing homes and chronic pain. She is forever out of pain and is now praising God in the company of her husband.

Dee was a lifelong learner. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1979. In the summer between her junior and senior years, Dee earned college credits at Elizabethtown College. In the fall of 1979, she entered Pennsylvania State University with her best friend, Tammy (Klase) Ault by her side. Dee graduated with a degree in special education. She began her teaching career at Northeastern High School in 1983. After several years of teaching, Dee pursued a registered nursing degree through St. Joseph School of Nursing. With this new degree she began work at York Memorial Hospital. Next she chose travel nursing to see the country, try new things, and to give Mike a chance to make up his mind…

She shared her love of nursing in Arizona, Nevada and California. Mike made a very good choice. He and Dee married on January 11, 1992. After their marriage, Dee worked as a case manager performing medical preapproval screenings for an insurance company.

Dee and Mike welcomed Dee’s parents to live with them after some health issues for her dad. This extended her dad’s life. Her parents were a great help with the home and when the next adventure came…

Dee and Mike strongly desired to be parents. They had much love to give and chose adoption as the means of growing their family. They adopted Vika, Viktoria and Lada from Russia in 2000. Dee thoroughly enjoyed being a mama to their girls. A couple of years later the DeVeny family grew by four as Dee and Mike welcomed Zhenya, Merry, Sasha, and Matvei from Kazakhstan. Dee would always say that these two decisions were the best of her life.

With a houseful of children, Dee combined her teaching and nursing degrees - teaching nursing at Gettysburg Area School District in their Vo-Tech program. She taught nursing skills to high school students. This choice allowed her to follow the school schedule of their children.

After Mike died in 2008, Dee once again looked at what would be best for her family. She dusted off her teaching certificate and began a second career at Northeastern High School. Her children were all students in the district. Mama knew their teachers and all about their day before they even got home!

Dee was an amazing mom to her seven kids in the wake of Mike’s death and into adulthood. Everything she did was sifted through what would be best for them. She alternately loved, cajoled, pushed, hugged, punished (but never liked it), interceded for them, and was their greatest champion. She was very proud of the adults they are today.

During her second tenure teaching at Northeastern High School, she earned a Master of Education in Reading degree. Dee was a phenomenal teacher! Every student, parent, teacher and administrator she worked with knew that she had the best interest of her students in mind, all the time. She fought for them, loved them, made them laugh, and even got them to do their work.

Dee had an eye for beauty and design. It showed in her many hobbies. She threw pottery on a spinning wheel, made gorgeous stained-glass projects, and loved to paint. She enjoyed building jigsaw puzzles and solving Sudoku and other tricky math puzzles.

For years Dee was the primary care provider for her mom. Linden’s onset of dementia was slow but steady. Dee kept her mom with her as long as she possibly could before transitioning her to a nursing home setting. “Dee and Linden. Linden and Dee” Everyone knew that they were always together.

Dee’s life was characterized by fierce loyalty to family and friends. Laughter was a hallmark of her life. She told the best stories! She never knew a stranger. Anywhere she went she could find someone she knew. And the words would fly! She also loved furry creatures. Dogs or cats, it didn’t matter. She loved them all!

We are holding a celebration of life service for Dee this Sunday, February 15, 2026. Join us at the Marriage Hub at 18 N Market St, Elizabethtown, PA. Come any time between 1:30 and 4:30. Share a story and a smile. Have some birthday cake. Celebrate an amazing woman gone too soon.