Richard Wing Griffin Sr.

He was the third of four sons born to Alexander Wayne, Sr. and Elizabeth (Blankenship) Griffin, and brother to Alexander Wayne, Jr., Robert Emery, and James Arlen (d.2015), and to sisters Virginia (Forgeron) and Joyce (Gallup), whom he adored.

Raised near the shore of Scattaree, Richard was a fisherman for several decades. He graduated from Chatham High School in 1947, enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as Tech Sergeant in the National Guard until 1951.

He marched with the Color Guard in the Fourth of July parade for almost forty years, and pitched a one-hitter against Sagamore in the early years of the Chatham town team. He was a founding member of the Chatham Chorale and passed the collection plate at Holy Redeemer Church for over sixty years. He trout fished the cold lakes of northeastern Vermont and hunted deer in the woods of Maine. He won awards for his oil paintings of local shipwrecks and shorelines, and was renowned along the East Coast for his piano and vocal rendition of “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette”.

He was a house painter for many years before retirement. He will best be remembered for his storytelling and laughter.

His greatest love was for Mary (MacLellan) of Randolph, his wife of fifty years, and his two sons Richard Wing, Jr. and Matthew Joseph. He was “Uncle Dick” to over thirty nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will occur at Nickerson Funeral Home in Chatham on Thursday, September 7th from 4-7 pm, and funeral services will be performed at Holy Redeemer Church in Chatham on Friday, September 8th at 10 AM. Burial will follow in People's Cemetery, Chatham MA