1917
Marie
2014
Marie Florence Griffin
August 15, 1917 — October 12, 2014
Obituary of Marie Florence (Vesper) Griffin
Born Aug 15, 1917, Died Oct 12, 2014 age 97
Marie was born in Camden, NJ. When she was 17 months old, her mother died of influenza during the great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. She was raised by her Aunt and then her widowed maternal grandfather. Although he did not raise her, she and her father had a close relationship and he would visit her often. Her paternal grandparents were Italian and because of the language barrier, she did not spend much time with them. She remembered her grandmother would call her “Marie-ooch†which became her nickname Ooch.
As a child, Marie loved the early silent movies, and wanted to be a piano player at a movie theater, playing ragtime and honky-tonk. She learned to dance The Charleston when it became popular and decades later would occasionally demonstrate The Charleston for her sons, which always brought her great enjoyment. She also taught some of her grandchildren the Charleston. She would laugh when during conversations, the subject would come up and they would spontaneously begin to do The Charleston for her.
During the summers, Marie would spend a great deal of time with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Allentown, PA. She remained very close to her cousins her entire life and often said those times were the happiest of her childhood. Marie and her cousins were among the first people to walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge between Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA when it first opened in 1926, before auto traffic was allowed across.
Marie attended schools in Camden, NJ, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. During her school years, she began to attend a local church and accepted the Lord May 15, 1932. After graduation, she worked as a clerk in Kite's Christian Bookstore in Camden. She maintained contact with several of her high school classmates for most of her life, and attended several reunions.
Marie remembered vividly the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg when it crashed and burned at Lakehurst, NJ on May 6, 1937. Lakehurst was approximately 50 miles from her home.
Before she married, Marie had a strong desire to become a missionary to China, a dream which was never fulfilled. She maintained her strong interest in missions through prayer and financial support for the rest of her life, faithfully praying for missionaries whose photos she kept on a bulletin board. She would often open her home to missionaries who were in town.
Marie was introduced to a young Army soldier, Randall Griffin of Adel, GA, while he was in the Camden area after the end of WWII. They began to exchange letters, which developed into a relationship. Marie and Randall were married in Camden in 1946. After their wedding, they moved to Atlanta, GA for a brief time, then to Albany, GA, and then finally settled in Orlando, Florida. In 1948 their first son Barry was born and about that time, Randall developed tuberculosis and was sent to a VA clinic near Orlando. She raised Barry as a single parent for the first two years and would take him to visit Randall every weekend. Marie and Randall's second son, Scott, was born in 1955.
Marie and Randall were members of First Baptist Church of Orlando between 1948 and 1953 and later that year became charter members of the Faith Baptist Church in Orlando, FL when it opened in 1953. She played the piano and organ for the church services for many years and remained a member there until she left Orlando in 2008 to live with her son Scott and his family in Ogden, Utah.
She stayed home to raise her children until they were in their teens. She then took a job with a department store in Orlando. She worked there for many years, first at the candy counter, and later in the marking room where the merchandise was inventoried, priced and labeled before it went to the sales floor. She retired in the early 70’s.
After her husband’s death in 1981 she devoted her time to her church, local children’s ministries, her children and grand children. Despite her somewhat difficult upbringing, Marie maintained a loving spirit and disposition which was noticed by all around her. Her life was an example of unconditional love.
Marie is survived by her sons Barry, his wife Valerie, Scott, his wife Joy, 6 grandchildren Barry II, Ryan, Kevin, Rachel, Taylor, and Hannah and 2 great-grandchildren, Audra and Rafe.
A graveside service will be held at Ogden City Cemetery Saturday October 18 at 10:00 AM
Born Aug 15, 1917, Died Oct 12, 2014 age 97
Marie was born in Camden, NJ. When she was 17 months old, her mother died of influenza during the great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. She was raised by her Aunt and then her widowed maternal grandfather. Although he did not raise her, she and her father had a close relationship and he would visit her often. Her paternal grandparents were Italian and because of the language barrier, she did not spend much time with them. She remembered her grandmother would call her “Marie-ooch†which became her nickname Ooch.
As a child, Marie loved the early silent movies, and wanted to be a piano player at a movie theater, playing ragtime and honky-tonk. She learned to dance The Charleston when it became popular and decades later would occasionally demonstrate The Charleston for her sons, which always brought her great enjoyment. She also taught some of her grandchildren the Charleston. She would laugh when during conversations, the subject would come up and they would spontaneously begin to do The Charleston for her.
During the summers, Marie would spend a great deal of time with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Allentown, PA. She remained very close to her cousins her entire life and often said those times were the happiest of her childhood. Marie and her cousins were among the first people to walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge between Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA when it first opened in 1926, before auto traffic was allowed across.
Marie attended schools in Camden, NJ, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. During her school years, she began to attend a local church and accepted the Lord May 15, 1932. After graduation, she worked as a clerk in Kite's Christian Bookstore in Camden. She maintained contact with several of her high school classmates for most of her life, and attended several reunions.
Marie remembered vividly the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg when it crashed and burned at Lakehurst, NJ on May 6, 1937. Lakehurst was approximately 50 miles from her home.
Before she married, Marie had a strong desire to become a missionary to China, a dream which was never fulfilled. She maintained her strong interest in missions through prayer and financial support for the rest of her life, faithfully praying for missionaries whose photos she kept on a bulletin board. She would often open her home to missionaries who were in town.
Marie was introduced to a young Army soldier, Randall Griffin of Adel, GA, while he was in the Camden area after the end of WWII. They began to exchange letters, which developed into a relationship. Marie and Randall were married in Camden in 1946. After their wedding, they moved to Atlanta, GA for a brief time, then to Albany, GA, and then finally settled in Orlando, Florida. In 1948 their first son Barry was born and about that time, Randall developed tuberculosis and was sent to a VA clinic near Orlando. She raised Barry as a single parent for the first two years and would take him to visit Randall every weekend. Marie and Randall's second son, Scott, was born in 1955.
Marie and Randall were members of First Baptist Church of Orlando between 1948 and 1953 and later that year became charter members of the Faith Baptist Church in Orlando, FL when it opened in 1953. She played the piano and organ for the church services for many years and remained a member there until she left Orlando in 2008 to live with her son Scott and his family in Ogden, Utah.
She stayed home to raise her children until they were in their teens. She then took a job with a department store in Orlando. She worked there for many years, first at the candy counter, and later in the marking room where the merchandise was inventoried, priced and labeled before it went to the sales floor. She retired in the early 70’s.
After her husband’s death in 1981 she devoted her time to her church, local children’s ministries, her children and grand children. Despite her somewhat difficult upbringing, Marie maintained a loving spirit and disposition which was noticed by all around her. Her life was an example of unconditional love.
Marie is survived by her sons Barry, his wife Valerie, Scott, his wife Joy, 6 grandchildren Barry II, Ryan, Kevin, Rachel, Taylor, and Hannah and 2 great-grandchildren, Audra and Rafe.
A graveside service will be held at Ogden City Cemetery Saturday October 18 at 10:00 AM
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