George Thomas Griffith

LEXINGTON - A memorial service for George Thomas Griffith, 74, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2016, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel. The family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home. Mr. Griffith died Thursday, November 17, 2016. Born on January 29, 1942 in Lancaster County, he was a son of the late M.I. Griffith and Ethel Johnson Griffith. He graduated from Lancaster High School, where he played football and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA in Arts. He served in the United State Air Force. George owned Griffith Art Gallery and worked at USC Lancaster as an art teacher. He was a co-founder of the Irmo Navy and was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church. He loved music, beach music, was a song writer, and founder of the band “Nomads.” He will be remembered for being a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. In November 1999, Griff achieved a musical mileston when he won “The Best Blues Song Award” at the Cammy Awards for the song, “Bang All Night.” A second thrill of a lifetime happened in November 2001 when he won “The Best Album Award” for Painted Blue 2. He was inducted into the R & B Hall of Fame in 2001. His most famous song was “Savannah in the Rain,” a narrative about the city’s “belly side of life.” Surviving are his daughter, Sheri Snead (Joe) of Great Falls; step sons, Joel Slotnick of Florida and Ryan Slotnick of Columbia; grandchildren, Brandon Thomas Jones (Candice) of Great Falls and Cheyanne Slotnick of Irmo; great-grandson, Colton Dwayne Wilson of Great Falls; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his wife, Donna Griffith; brother, William “Nig” Griffith; two sisters, Doris G. Sowell and Marion G. Hammond. Memorials may be made to the Irmo Navy, PO Box 833, Irmo, SC 29063. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.