Obituary: John W. Griffin Sr.
Newton Kansan
John W. Griffin Sr. of Denver died at
his home in Denver on April 26, 2011.
John graduated from Morningside College
in Sioux City, Iowa, where he and his wife, Elsie, established a
student scholarship. He continued his educational pursuits, receiving
a master's degree in school administration and curriculum from
Columbia University. Then he completed his doctoral studies at the
Michigan State University.
In his early career, he taught math and
science. In one small school, he taught math and science and also was
the principal and basketball coach. He moved on to serving as
principal and took a leadership role in developing and implementing
new school facilities. The position he enjoyed most was serving as
superintendent of the American International School of The Hague in
the Netherlands.
John established Stewardship Counseling
Inc., providing charitable estate planning working with non-profit
institutions, such as colleges, hospitals, nursing homes and
community foundations in Kansas and across the country. He has often
been referred to by peers as a pioneer in the field of philanthropy.
Throughout the years, John worked with
Central Kansas Community Foundation, Community Foundation of
southwest Kansas, Emporia State University Foundation, Mennonite
Brethren Foundation, Western Kansas Community Foundation and South
Central Community Foundation. He was instrumental in helping to
establish several of these community foundations. In South Dakota, he
worked with the Watertown Community Foundation and South Dakota
Community Foundation. In addition, he did consulting work with
several colleges and universities, such as Eastern Mennonite
University, Emporia State University, Hesston College, Southwestern
College and Tabor College.
John was preceded in death by his wife,
Elsie, and is survived by his wife, Jan; his daughter, Rochelle
Griffin (Jantien Lodder) of the Netherlands; his son, John Griffin
Jr. (Jill Griffin); and three grandchildren, Austin, Casey and Elyse
Griffin of Hesston.
A celebration of life service will be
at 2 p.m. May 14 at Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S. Main St. on the
Hesston College campus in Hesston.
In the event you are not able to attend
the service in person, you may wish to view the service live online
at www.hesston.edu/Griffin.
In lieu of flowers, should you wish to
make a memorial contribution in John's honor, the family suggests you
make a contribution to your favorite charity, church, college,
university or community foundation.
