Jim & Sharon Grifffith

James William “Jim” Griffith died September 11, 2017 in Porter, Texas. Jim was born November 5, 1927 to Art and Mildred (Sterling) Griffith in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1940 the family moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Jim graduated from high school and from Oklahoma A&M College in 1950. He and Laverne (Lee) Bradford were married in Stillwater on August 2, 1950. Jim’s careers varied from teaching to selling restaurant equipment to several jobs with the federal government, including appointments as Regional Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in Dallas and as Head of the Indian and Migrant Programs for the same agency in Washington, D.C. during the Nixon administration. He returned to Texas as an administrator for Texas State Technical Institute in Waco. After Lee’s death, Jim married Sharon Liston, and they returned to Washington, where Jim served on an advisory council for technical education under President Reagan.

Jim and Sharon returned to Waco and purchased a home west of McGregor, Texas that they restored and operated as The Mansion in McGregor until August of this year. Sharon died that month from injuries suffered in an auto accident.

Jim was active in Republican politics, beginning in the early 1960s. He served as GOP county chairman in Hayes County and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Texas State Legislature. Over the years, Jim became friends of George H.W. and Barbara Bush as well as many other well-known figures in the Party. More recently, he was active with Kiwanis International in Waco. He was an avid collector of political memorabilia and a student of presidential history.

Jim is survived by his children, Susan Allen (David) of Porter, Texas and Brad Griffith (Elizabeth Early) of St. Louis, Missouri; one grandchild, William Allen (Nicole), and two great grandchildren, Leah & Hunter Allen, all of Porter, Texas; nieces Mary Jane Lindaman of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Ann Hopkins of Edmond, Okahoma, and Virginia Griffith and Nancy Kramer of Stillwater, Oklahoma; and a nephew, James Art Griffith, of Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Sharon June Griffith died as a result of injuries from an automobile accident that occurred on August 5, 2017. She was born on September 24, 1943 in San Diego, California, the daughter of Earl Liston and Estelle Smith. Sharon was principal at Reicher Catholic High School in Waco. She and James “Jim” Griffith, were married in Washington D.C., in 1982. Sharon worked for the U. S. Department of Interior and was active in Republican politics. She was a member of the Daughters of American Revolution, Henry Downs Chapter, and the Sterling C. Robertson Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. She was also active in Kiwanis International. Memorials donations may be made to Fuzzy Friends Rescue, 6321 Airport Rd, Waco, Texas 767089