George Thomas Griffin

George Thomas Griffin passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on July 5th, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Florida. In his last days he was surrounded by a host of loving family members as well as old and new friends. The local Hospice chapter was also at his side along with the very kind and loving nurses and staff of Addington Place Senior Living.

George was born on February 11, 1938, in Omaha, Nebraska to the late George T. and Catherine A. (Monaghan) Griffin. He is preceded in death by his sister Mary Rita Audo Griffin, infant brother Charles Bernard Griffin, and his eldest son Michael Joseph Griffin.

He is survived by Roxanne Griffin (Mantella), his wife of nearly 30 years, three of his children, Linda Formella (Joseph), James (Kim Critchlow) Griffin, Barbara Gutierrez, and his stepson Anthony Ivey; seven grandchildren, Dani McVety Leinen, Jessica Formella Stutsman, Colby Griffin, Kathryn Formella Moreno, Michael Gutierrez, Matthew Griffin and Marcus Gutierrez; and 13 great grandchildren, Baron and Collins McVety, Lion, Maverick and Finley Leinen, James, Samantha, Jack, and Graclyn Griffin, Zachariah Cullens, Zeke, Judah, and Penelope Moreno. He is also survived by his nieces, Cathy Audo Brinkman (Jeff), Beth Audo Buckland (Gregg), his great-niece Dani Sava (Paul) and great-great nieces, Arya and Iyla Sava.

Growing up, George developed a life-long love for all things with wheels that spin and go fast. As a child he loved to play with yo-yos and he built soap-box derby cars in the basement of his house. As a young man he rented go-carts out to people in parking lots and as an adult he cheered on his sons who raced motorcycles and cars. He was an avid fan of Indy Car, NASCAR and Midget Car racing. For many years he attended car races all over the country with fellow race car fans, friends and family, including one of his favorites, the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of his favorite family activities was go-cart racing with his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. George always had a fresh supply of balsa wood airplanes and scratch off lottery tickets for the grandkids when they visited.

George was also a talented athlete playing basketball in high school in the Kansas City area and never lost his touch as a superb free-throw shooter. He was also a long-time fan of the Kansas City Chiefs football team. In the early days of the team, he purchased a Winnebago so that he could drive a group of his friends and family to the Chiefs games. Later, with his wife Roxanne, he was an enthusiastic snow skier in Vail, Colorado for over 15 years. Together they ran numerous 5k races and a few marathons. Over their happy years together they enjoyed 22 cruises all around the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Islands, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Professionally, George followed in his father’s footsteps becoming a sales rep in the electrical industry. He started out working for 3M in Kansas City and over time successfully ran several of his own companies in Kansas City and Florida that warehoused and sold electrical wire, lighting, breakers and other electrical components. Shortly after moving to Florida in the mid 1980’s George started a new manufacturer’s representative agency and eventually sold the company to his two sons Michael and James which they operated for almost 20 years. George was a very savvy businessman that understood how to take care of his customers and deliver on commitments. He formed many lifelong relationships with people in the industry.

After many happy years living in Tierra Verde, Florida where they had many friends, George and Roxanne moved to Addington Place at College Harbor (AP) in St. Petersburg, FL. George quickly established his status as “The Mayor” of AP. He knew everyone and always brought a smile to the faces of fellow residents, their family members and staff with his quick wit or heartfelt conversations. During Covid, George loved delivering all the packages to his neighbors at AP on his flame-red 4-wheel scooter and even helped the marketing team during tours with prospective new residents. He was a savvy Rummikub player and loved the music and entertainment at AP. He had many kind friends and devoted staff members there who cared for him until the end of his life.

George’s passions were time with his wife Roxanne, Cherry Coke, candy corn, circus peanuts, a good sticky bun, vanilla malts, and biscuits and gravy and he thought that duct-tape could fix everything! He loved giving orders (not so subtle suggestions) to anyone who would listen. But most of all George was known for his sharp-mind, humor, kindness, and generosity. He will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

A celebration of George’s life will be held on Saturday, August 9th from 1:00-3:00 pm at Addington Place at College Harbor, 4600 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33711. The family requests donations to Empath Hospice https://suncoasthospicefoundation.org/donations2/ in lieu of flowers.