Carol Bagby Griffith

Carol was born on August 2, 1944, to Samuel and Sara Bagby in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while her parents were doing missionary work. If you know her, you know how proud she was of her August birthday and being born under the Leo sign. They returned to the US shortly after her birth and she grew up in North Carolina and graduated in the top of her class from Lumberton High. After graduating from high school, she started college majoring in English, but decided to take a break and starting working full-time.

In 1970, Carol’s life changed forever when she finally gave in and agreed to a blind date with a man named Harold, arranged by a family member, who thought they would be perfect for each other. After 52 years of raising 4 children, 5 grandchildren and countless animals together, she might have been right!

Throughout her life, Carol had many interests and hobbies, but none that were more important to her than being a Mom and a Mama, which she loved to proudly display with her expansive collection of mom/grandma shirts and jewelry (sometimes to her daughter’s dismay). While she had the intelligence and ambition to do whatever she put her mind to, her true calling and happiness was spending time with her family.

She preferred the simple pleasures in life and would never pass up the opportunity to play a board game, especially her favorite, Yahtzee! Her Yahtzee skills extended far beyond her living room, playing online with people from all over the world, making many international friends. Like a true Leo, Carol possessed a gregarious and jovial personality that others could not help but be drawn to, and everyone she met, whether in person or online, became a treasured friend to her. Although she knew people from tropical paradises, her happy place was her home in Tallahassee. She loved Tallahassee for multiple reasons, but being close to her family, cheering on the Seminoles during Saturday game days, and enjoying the life that she and Harold built there were at the top of the list.

Carol was the true heart of our family and was always our biggest and most ardent cheerleader. She only ever saw the positives in those that she cared about and, in turn through her, allowed us to see our world in a better and more optimistic light. She had a smile that could dissolve every worry you had, and showed us that no problem was so big that hard work and determination could not eventually overcome it. She loved us unquestionably. Despite her diagnosis of cancer and the pain of treatment, she kept her smile and grace through it all. She fought fiercely every day to spend time with family never letting it stop her from doing what she loved most. She was a true warrior, and if we did not know that before, we definitely know now, as there is a hole in our lives that will never be filled, only navigated around.

Carol was predeceased by her husband Harold, stepson Spencer and parents Samuel and Sara Bagby. She is survived by her son Ryan Griffith (Jessica), daughter Gretchen Winters (Drew), stepdaughter Elizabeth Lepre (Dick) and sister Lynda Deal. She was a proud “Mama” to her 5 grandchildren, Madison (23), Amy (20), Austin (19), Isabella (18) and Cayson (10) and dog mom to their beloved Molly.

A celebration of her life will be held at the Edison Restaurant on July 20th and she will once again be reunited with Harold and be laid to rest with him at the Tallahassee National Cemetery at a later date.

Until we meet again, Fly High Mom!