Ruth Etta Griffith

Ruth was born on July 1st, 1937, in Turley, Oklahoma. After graduating high school, she went to Oklahoma College for Women. Ruth earned her teaching degree and moved to Hobbs, New Mexico, and later to Tucson, Arizona, in 1961. Once in Tucson, Ruth began teaching with the Tucson Unified School District at Townsend Junior High School and married her husband, John Griffith, in 1962. She earned her Master's degree in Education from the University of Arizona in 1963. Ruth continued to teach at Townsend until her retirement in 1996. In her almost 35 years of teaching, she taught physical Education and science and coached softball, volleyball, and track, positively impacting thousands of students throughout her career. She was well respected by her peers and loved by her students, who called her Ms. Griff.

Ruth's favorite hobby was bowling. Ruth bowled at Lucky Strike Bowl for over 40 years on singles and doubles teams. She achieved numerous accomplishments with a high score and high average as a bowler. Ruth successfully competed in state and national tournaments and proudly talked about bowling until her passing. During her time teaching and bowling, she met many lifelong friends.

Ruth is preceded in death by her mother, Emma Brandau, sister Alice Walker, and husband John Griffith. She is survived by her children Todd Griffith and Ramona Freimuth, sister Georgia Moon, grandchildren Jessica Griffith, Ryan Freimuth, and Katherine Freimuth, and close friend Barbara Kearney.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the University of Arizona's Center for Innovation in Brain Science, supporting research on age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. https://give.uafoundation.org/cibs

A Funeral Service will be held at East Lawn Palms Mortuary on December 29, at 11:00 AM, followed by a Graveside Service at East Lawn Palms Cemetery at 12:00 PM. At the family’s request, the funeral service will be live-streamed on the East Lawn Palms Facebook page, and will be available to view live at the time of service. A recording of the live stream will remain available to view following the services. https://www.facebook.com/EastLawnPalms/