Margaret Gloria Griffin

Margaret was born June 18, 1926, in Winchester, Idaho, to Margaret Joyce Lipps Nelson and Leonard S. Nelson. She experienced wartime and peace, saw good times and periods not so good during her next 90 plus years, finally retiring as an office manager after 13 years with Minyard's Grocery Stores in Arlington, TX. She could list on her resume employment as varied as selling ticket to Spokane's Natatorium Park (a landmark predating 1892) as well as being employed in Sonoma by Sam Sebastiani as on of the local children to whom he gave hiring preference during the Dust Bowl, "cuttin' up pears" an " pickin' up prunes" on their knees, hard work during tough time she clearly remembered! Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Ohio Match Company, Sharps Grocery, Wyatt’s Grocery, and finally Minyard’s Grocery Stores in Arlington where she retired as an office manager after 13 years. She could recall hearing café customers crying as they listened to a radio announcer say Pearl Harbor had been bombed. She did her part for the war effort by working at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco where she was learning to weld and do submarine repair work and later in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, working for the Ohio Match Company, "choppin' blocks" for wooden matches for the troops. She and Sgt. James F. Griffin began their 40-year marriage in Couer d’Alene in May 1951. He left immediately for Japan, and Margaret continued there with Ohio Match. Margaret made a home, hung curtains, found a job, and made friends beside him on his subsequent assignments in San Francisco and Riverside, California, and Tonopah and Tucson, Arizona, After James's Air Force retirement June 1, 1964 , they settled in Arlington where in 1965 they built their first permanent home where Margaret lived until April 2019. They were married 40 years; James preceded her in death May 3, 1991. Joining Woods Chapel Baptist Church June 23, 1986, Margaret became part of the Lamplighters, the 39ers, and Golden Notes Choir. She traveled to Branson more than once with this church group and also enjoyed Hawaiian and Caribbean cruises with family and friends. Fishing, cooking, and reading widely and voraciously were other of her pleasures. The Golden Girls and Betty White brought much delight into Margaret's home her last couple of years, and she'd often reference those she'd known through the years with a line from the show's theme song: "Thank you for being a friend." She maintained her lifelong, upbeat outlook throughout the last two-and-a-half years as she battled cancer. Margaret is survived by son Steve Patrick Gecewicz of Elizabeth CO., and many, many cousins, nieces, and nephews, all of whom she loved. Should a memorial suggestion be desired, she’d have most certainly been pleased by a gift to a charity of your choice. She'll be sorely missed in the life by family, neighbors, and the many friends on her extensive Christmas card list.