Karen Mary Griffin

Karen Mary Griffin passed away on December 28, 2021 surrounded by family and friends, at the age of 70. Karen was born in Buffalo, NY and lived much of her life raising her family in Hamburg, NY. She relocated to Washington, DC in 2017 to be close to her daughters.

Karen was a graduate of Bishop Neumann High School and earned her bachelors and Masters degrees at SUNY Buffalo State College. She was a dedicated speech and language pathologist in the Hamburg Central School District for over 30 years. Her students loved going to Mrs. Griffin’s class where they would have fun and laugh, not even realizing they were doing their speech therapy.

Karen was an avid runner of 5K’s to marathons. She was especially proud when she completed the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC. She was an eclectic music lover, attending Woodstock in ‘69 and later as a regular at the Kennedy Center. An animal lover at heart, Karen helped several cat and dog rescues by giving or finding them homes. Karen had an infectious laugh, the grooviest dance moves and was a semi-professional air guitarist.

Karen was the loving mother to Katherine, Meghan (Gabe Smith) and Brighid (Veer Newaldass) and many adoring nieces, nephews and Godchildren. She was the proud grandmother of Grace and Nora Newaldass. She is survived by her siblings Kevin (Kim) Connors, Teresa Connors Anderhalt, Kathleen (Ken) Witzel, Michael (Maureen) Connors.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, 1725 Rhode Island Ave. NW Washington DC 20036, on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 10:00 am.

The family requests that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to Kelly for Kids Foundation (www.kellyforkids.com), in memory of Karen Griffin.