Jean M. Griffith

Jean "Jeanie" Milner Griffith of First Community Village, Upper Arlington, Ohio, passed away peacefully August 1, 2019. She was married to Mike "The World's Best Husband" Griffith for 59 years. Jean had a delightful life growing up in Jefferson (Ashtabula County), Ohio and later in Columbus. She graduated from Columbus North High School in 1956 and The Ohio State University with a BS and MA in education in 1960. At OSU she was honored by Alpha Lambda Delta, Mirrors, Chimes Honorary and Mortar Board. She was president of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Chimes.

A month after graduation Jean and Mike were married. They built a life of respect, love and laughter, enjoying many activities together - sailing, ice boating, camping and fishing. Jennifer, born in 1965, and Betsy, born in 1967, added parenting joy and many activities for their daughters both in Upper Arlington and Dublin.

Jean was also a docent at Columbus Museum of Art and a member of Pleasure Guild of Nationwide Children's Hospital, Childhood League Board VIII, and First Community Church Guild 7. She was president of CMA Docent Alumni, the Columbus Mortar Board Alumni and the first president of Dublin Plus. She loved kids and teaching in Upper Arlington, Dublin and OSU where she supervised student teachers for several years. Despite the devastating loss of their daughter Jennifer in 2008 and a number of hereditary genetic diseases, Jean chose to be happy, not thinking of herself as handicapped. She had delightful friends in Columbus, Naples (FL) and Marblehead (OH). She was blessed with a truly amazing husband and daughter.

She is survived by her husband Michael B. Griffith and daughter, Betsy (Mike) Grimm of Oak Park, Illinois, son-in-law Marc (Heyza) Beer of Boston, delightful grandchildren Nick Beer, Catherine Beer, Elizabeth Beer, Hattie Grimm and Adam Grimm, dear sister-in-law Louesa (Dick) Foster of Columbus and Judy Zelazny of Santa Fe.

The family invites you to toast to Jean's boundless spirit at a reception, Saturday, August 10, 5-8pm, Schoedinger Northwest Chapel, 1740 Zollinger Rd, Columbus, OH 43221. Celebration of Life Service Sunday, August 11, 2pm, First Community Church, 1320 Cambridge Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212.

Instead of flowers those who wish, might remember Jean with a gift to the Alpha-1 Foundation for Genetic COPD, 3300 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, Coral Gables FL 33134 or Kobacker House Hospice, 800 McConnell Drive, Columbus OH 43214. To share memories or condolences, please visit www.schoedinger.com.