"[5] Born near Mason-Dixon in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania on January 26, 1921, John Landis Grove was a son of the Rev.
[6][7] He and his older brother, Dwight, spent their formative years building farm wagons in Shady Grove, Pennsylvania.
[8][9][10] During World War II, Grove married Cora Isabelle Wagner and served as a member of the medical corps in the United States Army.
[13][14][15] Needing a method of moving heavy steel for the wagons, Grove used his knowledge of hydraulics to develop a rudimentary crane.
In the late 1950s, Grove's work with Paul K. Shockey developed an all-steel hydraulic extension ladder for use on fire trucks.
[23][24] In 1987, he delivered the Commencement Address at Shippensburg University, during which he told the graduating class:[25] "Carry forward your responsibilities to society in order to leave this world better than you found it.
[26] Ailing for the final two years of his life, Grove died at the age of eighty-two at his home in Greencastle, Pennsylvania on June 16, 2003.