Ann Buckley Griffith

Ann was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother/great-grandmother and mother-in-law who deeply impacted all she encountered through her love, kindness and joyful approach to people and life. No one left an encounter with Ann without feeling a little bit better. Her life was guided by a deep devotion to her Catholic faith that animated her every action.

Ann was born on December 13, 1931, to Harry Augustine Buckley and Elizabeth Booth Buckley. She graduated from Dominican College in San Rafael, California, with a bachelor’s degree in art in 1954 and began a series of jobs that eventually took her to Seattle. There, on a blind date, she met the love of her life, Harry Augustus Griffith, Jr. After a brief engagement they married in April of 1956, sharing a beautiful marriage of 47 years before he died in 2003.

They gave birth to six beloved children: Elizabeth (Donald Daniel), Harry (Barbara Ashley), Paul (Margaret Stone), Mary (H. James Towey), John (Leah Honeycutt), and Joseph (Ronetta Notre-Dupris). She is also survived by her adored grandchildren: Ashley (Douglas Kollme), Sarah, Audrey (Jacob Cooney), John, Carolyn (Nicholas Hartman), Emily, Paul Jr., James (Carolyn Perez), Joseph, Maximilian, John, Marie, Samuel, Katherine, Anna, Eleanor, Harper, Tanner, and Amelia; as well as great-grandchildren: Otto, Isabella, Maximilian, Ava, Sophie, Harry (“Gus”), Eleanor, Penny, Patrick, Gabriel, and Nicholas. Ann was predeceased by her beloved great-grandson Sebastian in 2017; her beloved son Paul in 2022; and her beloved grandson Harry (“Hank,” Jessica Perna) in 2023. Two of her siblings predeceased her: Harry (“Buck”) Buckley and Joan Cox. Her sister Elizabeth (“Mimi”) Connelly and cousin Bill Clapp survive her, and many nieces, nephews, and “greats.”

Ann was stamped with US Army green as she grew up with a father who served in the horse cavalry and then married a West Point graduate/Corps of Engineers officer. Her Army life took her from Fairbanks, Alaska to Mobile, Alabama, and West Point, New York to Seoul, Korea, with stops in a dozen other states. As a mother, she made the moves into fun adventures for her children and capitalized on the opportunities each place presented. She always put family first but found time to do volunteer work in senior living homes and a crisis pregnancy center; and she earned a master’s in American literature from George Mason University.

Ann was not only a wonderful mother, but a one-of-a-kind grandmother. As she had done so beautifully with her children, she shared her time, faith, experience and love of art and literature with her 32 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They each have special memories of long hours of reading, drawing and storytelling with “Grandma/Homma/Gigi.”

Ann will be deeply missed and remain in our hearts forever.

Friends will be received on Sunday, April 12, 2026, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 10 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, VA. Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a date to be determined.

With heartfelt appreciation, the Griffith family thanks all of Ann's wonderful caregivers from Butters Home Health Care, especially Edom Ghidey, whose quiet kindness accompanied Ann four days a week for three years, as well as friends for their loving well-wishes, support and prayers.

Remembrances may be made to Vision for Life (PO Box 30, Wexford, PA 15090; https://visionforlifeusa.org/) or Aging with Dignity (https://agingwithdignity.org/).