C. H. Griffin Jr.
August 14, 1917 ~ July 4, 2014
C.H. Griffin, Jr., (affectionately known as Griff) was a long-time educator, active in the community schools, and the lives of thousands of students over more than fifty years of teaching, died quietly at the Highland Nursing Home in San Antonio on July 4, 2014. He is survived by his wife Bettye, daughter Karon Eggers and husband Jack, and sons "Skip" and John Griffin. He has 6 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Close friend and fellow teacher Raul Davila said Griff was such a remarkable, generous, and giving person. Mr. Davila taught with Griff at Oak Crest Junior High School in the 1960's and also said he was a pivotal person in his life. "He was always there when I needed advice and he helped me to become a satisfied teacher who liked what he was doing." According to Dr. Nancy J. Hagen, another of Griff's long-time friends and co-workers, the greatest contribution Griff made to education, was treating new teachers, parents and students alike, not only with respect, but with true affection. Griff kept new teachers under his wing while they learned to handle 13 and 14 year old boys and girls with grace and discipline. Griff was an outstanding mentor! As an English teacher, he was truly unique. There was almost nothing he wouldn't try in order to get and keep students' interest even if boys and girls whose use of the English language was limited. He loved watching kids read and never minded when they brought library books to his classes. His antics to keep interest and teach hard concepts were legendary! When he had trouble teaching the difference between "transitive" and "intransitive" verbs. (Transitive verbs have objects (e.g. I hit the ball.) He came to class one day tied to a box marked OBJECT and asked kids, "Am I transitive or not?" I suspect those kids now in their 50's still know the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs! Griff's interest in people was not limited to students but extended to people in need and in trouble also. He and his wife were instrumental in helping many young people get off drugs and alcohol over the years. Friend and fellow teacher, Ms. Nellene Pittman, said Mr. Griffin was that teacher who remembered that he wasn't only teaching English, but that he was teaching students. He was a very caring teacher. Knowing Mr. Griffin certainly enriched my life, said 1963 graduate Charles Aulds, who went to Oak Crest Jr. High in 1959. Another Oak Crest student, Lonnie Vee Parker, remembers that he instilled a love of Geography and maps in her, and she will miss seeing Mr. Griffin in HEB, wearing his "driving cap". In addition to Jr. High, Mr. Griffin also taught GED classes both while teaching and for several more years after retirement, and worked directly with people preparing for the GED test. Griff was a believer in education as the great equalizer! His own education was important to him also. Born in Gonzales, Texas in 1917, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in the first graduating class of 1933. From there, he attended Baylor University and began his teaching career shortly after graduating. "Belief" in both God and country fueled his prodigious energy and Griff became a lighthouse of the Lord to all those he touched. As a coworker and a new teacher under his tutelage, in 1959-60, I dearly loved Mr. Griffin and appreciated to this day, the deep respect and regard he offered me and showed me how to extend that to my students. Mr. Griffin, "Griff" to his friends and fellow teachers, was the "favorite" teacher of many students in the East Central Independent School District. Students loved and respected him just as much as his coworkers and invited him to their annual class reunions. The Class of 1963 invited the Griffins to their reunions, and they attended most of them, however Illness kept him from attending their 50th reunion last year. I am sure many "kids" he taught will miss him, his laughter, and his wonderful presence. We will all miss him!!
Memorials can be made to "East Central Schools Foundation" in Mr. C.H. Griffin, Jr.'s name and sent to the following address or call 210-648-7861 for more information:
East Central Schools Foundation C H Griffin, Jr. Memorial 6634 New Sulphur Springs Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78263
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
Memo to Mr. Griffin
Dear Griff:
The Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote words quite
fitting of you.
“A friend is a person with whom we may think Aloud,
He makes us do
the best we can at what we try to do,
And with whom we
are easily great at what we try to be.â€
There never was a Topic or Idea I feared too foreign to
share,
Or to discuss with you.
You were ready to help and always there.
And now as you sail away in that Grand Ship in the Sky
The only regret I have is to have to say Goodbye.
But I know it is only for a little while, until we meet
again.
Your friend of 51 years, Raul. Davila
Donations in Memory of Mr Griffin are to be sent to:
http://east-central-school-fou…
It was with great sadness that I heard of Mr.Griffin’s passing. I will always remember him as a great English teacher and I credit him for my love of English all throughout my school years. May he rest in peace, and may God be with his family. With my Sincere Sympathy, Pat Menger Alms. Class of 1965 of East Central High School.
We do not mourn his death, for he lives more certainly and completely than he ever did on earth. He loved John Donne’s poetry so we will let him speak for us.
“One short step sleep past,
we wake eternally,
: and death shall be no more.”
,
I had the extreme pleasure of knowing and working with Mr. Griffin for many years with the East Central community education department. He was the epitome of a great and caring teacher to all of his students. He was also without a doubt a wonderful human being. I was saddened to hear of his passing and his family is in my thoughts and prayers.
A dangling participle kicks like a donkey and he would do his donkey kick. He was an awesome man and wonderful teacher. It was a pleasure being in his class and being on his newspaper staff. I was lucky enough to run into him around town and my son got to meet him. I told him that he would be so lucky to have a teacher like him. You will be dearly missed. God Bless, Cynthia Blackstock- Wylie
Mr. Griffin made learning how to diagram sentences fun….how did he do that??? He kept our attention like no other teacher, and was my favorite teacher of all time. As a teacher myself, I have thought of him many times over the years, and remembered the impact his teaching style had on us students. He was quite a character with his chalk covered hands and pants, but he kept our attention and created an atmosphere of learning…..fond memories. I can imagine he would have hated abbreviated texting :).
Deborah Bowman Crenshaw
Nacogdoches, Texas
I loved Mr. Griffin! He actually BECAME a linking verb in my 7th grade English class! Fabulous man!!
Rest in Peace Mr. Griffin. We will see you again.
So many memories of his class. He taught as no other teacher could. So sad to hear of his passing. He will be missed.
Mr. Griffin was the first teacher I ever had that made school fun. Mythology and sentence diagrams and do not forget…
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wellsFrom the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
A truly talented teacher.
I had Mr. Griffin as an English teacher in 8th grade at Salado Middle School. His passion and enthusiasm is remembered well! He was always positive and dancing around to teach us all the different aspects. He was a leader and example for all other teachers (and human beings) to live by. May he rest in peace and his family and friends know he shed a great light on this world.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Griffin at Highland Nursing Center where my mom also resides. He would always extend his hand to shake my hand. We would talk about current events and he would tell me about his adventures of teaching at East Central ISD. I became very close to him and his wife. He would tell me about some “deal” he kept repeating and I would whisper in his ear “don’t worry about anything I’ve got your back. He would give me a silly smile. From our conversations I knew he had been a very caring person and a fantastic teacher. I still go visit my mom and i imagine he’ll be coming around the turn on his wheelchair and smile at me. His wife resides at the Nursing Center so now I must check on her. Save your conversations Mr. Griffin until we meet again.
What a great man! As a first year teacher at Salado Middle School, I had the pleasure of working with Griff. He was the model of what we want in teachers. Kind, caring, loving and a fabulous and innovative teacher. I will never forget walking by his room one day and seeing him standing in an awkward position facing the class, bent at his waist with one arm dangling at his side. I had to step in to see what was up. I am sure that I had made it through Baylor University and 13 years of public school without learning what a “dangling participle” was, and to this day I have not forgotten thanks to Mr. Griffin. He touched thousands of lives and his legacy lives today in the students he served so passionately. There are few people in the world who live their lives as well as this man. He was called by God to be a teacher. He was the best! If I could talk to him I would say: ” Thanks Griff! “You instilled hope in those who were lacking hope. You taught us the meaning of commitment, hard work and dedication, and the meaning of the word humble. You gave us all a great model to emulate. You were a great friend, teacher and colleague.” I am grateful to God for his gift to the world in the great teacher C. H. Griffin. And I am grateful that I experienced the blessing of knowing and working with him. This is a better place because he was in it. There is no doubt in my mind that Saint Peter met him at the door of heaven with the greeting: “Welcome good and faithful servant!” He will be greatly missed.
My heart was saddened when I learned of your passing. You made such an impression on my life like you did to so many other people, and I feel so fortunate to have had you for a teacher. You inspired so many students by making English fun, and I felt it was an honor to have had you for a teacher.
You taught us how to make diagramming fun; you taught us to enjoy the classics, and we learned and memorized many grammar rules.
My condolences to your family for their loss; you will be missed.
Mr. Griffin was one of my all time favorite teachers! He taught me 7th grade English at Oak Crest Jr High. He was the type of teacher that you remember your entire life because of how he taught what he taught! Any former student knows exactly what I mean by that. The day he began teaching about dependent clauses, he entered the classroom and said “when the bell rings” and then walked back out – only to come back in and and say something like “after lunch is over” and leave again. He did this several times. We were perplexed, but certainly he had our attention. This is how he made grammar come to life and stay with us for a lifetime. I remember diagramming sentences using what he taught us – and we could tell you what part of speech each word was in the sentence “The suzily leazable watsuk zaleebed zizzily across the zam.”. He was truly a gifted teacher! I could go on and on, but best not. Suffice it to say that I have many memories of learning in his classroom.
I ended up naming my cat after him many years after having Mr.Griffin as my teacher – as a tribute to him. (I am an animal lover, so to me this was a special way to remember a great teacher.) I told my two sons about how Mr. Griffin taught and used his ways to reinforce their school experiences.
My sincere condolences to his family. The world lost one of it’s greatest teachers!