H. Ellis Griffin

It is with deep sadness that I announce the death of my best friend and loving husband of over 50 years of marriage, H. Ellis Grifin, on June 18, 2026. He was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on October 21, 1939. He also lived in Baytown, TX; San Diego, CA; Chicago, IL and Peekskill, NY.

Ellis was a voracious reader and a traveler by nature. He traveled through space and time through his Sci-fi readings, having as many as four books going at one time. He started traveling the world after high school by joining the Navy and seeing all the sights in the Pacific. When he worked for Union Carbide Medical Products, he visited Australia, the Soviet Union, Caribbean, and the main countries in Europe as International Service Manager. His work with Emerson Process Management brought him to Asia, Central and South America and as far as Terra del Fuego. While working at Emerson, he won the Service Excellence Award three times.

By hosting 27 international high school students from 14 different countries, we did some armchair traveling. Through these students, we also had the opportunity to visit many of their homelands and to meet their families and even attend weddings. Ellis and I also visited all 50 of the United States, taking some of the students along on our adventures.

He was predeceased by his parents, Raymond Ellis Griffin and Icie Mae Foster, his two older brothers, Warren and William, his two brothers-in-law, Joseph Grabon and Robert Juszczyk and one of the international students, Katarina Novichkova.

He is survived by his wife, JoAnn Griffin; his sisters-in-law Barbara Juszczyk and Sherry Grabon; and several nieces and nephews.

The Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11 am on Friday July 3, 2026 at St. Denis Church, 602 Beekman Road Hopewell Junction, NY 12533. Burial will follow in St. Denis Cemetery.

For anyone unable to attend the Mass, you may tune into the livestream here: https://vimeo.com/event/6008534/941ea06d60

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to National Marrow Donor Program (formerly known as Be the Match) 500 N. Fifth St. Minneapolis, MN 55401.