He is survived by his loving and caring wife of 62 years Arminta ”Mimi” Griffin, his brother David Griffin and his sister in-law Barbara of Venice, Florida and his sister in-law Elizabeth Willoughby of Grafton, Ontario, Canada. Ralph leaves his four children Deborah Griffin of Clinton, Daniel Griffin and wife Gretchen of Old Lyme, Denise Griffin of Vermontville, NY and Rebecca Griffin of Old Lyme; all of whom he was fortunate enough to be in the presence of in the waning hours of his life.
Ralph was a proud grandparent to Joseph Griffin and wife Christine of Hochspeyer, Germany; Elizabeth Griffin and her husband Ben Rosenthal of Windemere Florida; William Collum of Haikou City, Hainan, China; Megan Griffin of State College PA; David Collum of Philadelphia, PA; Maya Baxter and her husband Ben Baxter of West Palm Beach, FL and Daniel Marinelli of Old Lyme. He was also the proud great grandfather of Henry Lebron Rosenthal and George Olajuwan Rosenthal, children of Elizabeth and Griffin and Ben Rosenthal.
He attended Dartmouth College and the University of Buffalo and served two years in the Army. He worked in Corporate Finance for thirty-two years at Chesebrough Ponds and Health Tex. Ralph was an active volunteer during his retirement, having served as Chairman of SCORE, Cappella Cantorum, board member of the Old Lyme Visiting Nurses, Deacon Emeritus of the Old Lyme Congregational Church, past board member of the Old Lyme Planning Commission, District Coordinator for AARP Income Tax Services and Board Member of Mount Saint John School in Deep River Connecticut. He was honored to have been named Citizen of the Year for the Town of Old Lyme in 1995.
In the latter years of his life, Ralph enjoyed his grandchildren and also his many leisure activities. Ralph was fortunate and able to meet his goal of retirement at age 55. He travelled the world, loved his boats, was an avid fisherman, scalloper-anything to do with the sea. He enjoyed numerous deep-sea fishing trips with friends. He loved music, singing, teaching and playing bridge and enjoyed watching sports, especially the Boston Celtics and UConn Women’s Basketball. He also loved, perhaps most of all to sit peacefully on his back porch on summer days, quietly looking out at the woods beyond, or to float serenely for hours in the lakes of Connecticut, followed by a hearty meal in the presence of family.
He was a man who imparted many lessons to all his loved ones, but his greatest legacy was that he was always there, and we, his family, all those who love him, wish to give him one last thanks for that.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme and Cappella Cantorum.
A Memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
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