Lorna Anna Dorothea Griffith

When I think of Mom, I think of the dichotomy of her life and how she was perceived throughout her 96 years. She was raised on a farm in Nebraska during the time of the Great Depression, which by any measure, is a hard life. She got up at 4 am and milked the cows before school, and then had to work in the fields until dark. The farm life and the Great Depression formed many of the traits that come to mind as we reflect on who Mom was.

Mom was very poor for the first half of her life. After she left the farm, she supported her family on coffee shop waitress tips. There were too many days where she fed her children, but went without herself. She was forced to be “frugal”, and even after finances got a bit better, she still didn’t buy for herself when not absolutely necessary. 31 years ago, Mom moved in with her youngest daughter, which reduced her expenses to a trickle, but even so, she still wouldn’t splurge on anything for herself.

Despite her financial condition, many people considered Mom as “The Bank”. Countless times Mom provided significant money to people who would ask, or sometimes she would offer when hearing of someone else’s financial struggles. At times the money was paid back to Mom, and unfortunately, sometimes it was not, however she never dwelled on negativity. I am amazed at how she was always willing to lend a hand to others, but would not treat herself.

Growing up, Mom was considered by the neighborhood to be the “Mean Mom” because she wouldn’t put up with shenanigans, like disrespect of people or property. So many times, friends would invite us over to their house because they didn’t want to come to ours. Her extended family (kids, grandkids, etc.) thank her for the life lessons she passed on through her morals and ethics. She sometimes had a gruff demeanor, but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family. She lovingly cared for her grandchildren as well as their children at different times for extended periods when asked. She was also the one who took care of her own mother when she got sick, and she was asked to spend months taking care of her sister-in-law in Nebraska as well. I wish that she could have gotten the recognition for these selfless acts, but sadly that was not to be.

Mom lived a simple life, and had few dreams of excitement for herself. She reflected recently that she couldn’t believe how many things she had done that she would not have imagined. She marveled at the fact that she was able to go to Hawaii, Germany, Paris, and Puerto Rico. I recall how excited she was when I took her to a Garth Brooks concert along with a few others.

Mom didn’t know the word “procrastination”, and if you wanted to see the stern side of her, you only need to look at her reaction if she asked for something and it wasn’t done within 5 seconds of being asked… Thankfully, she didn’t ask for much every day. As she lived with Kathleen for much of the last 30 years, this was the area where her daughter Kathleen (who is an expert procrastinator) learned to adjust… sometimes. Others simply had to experience the wrath in order to comply, but we all did.

Mom loved to embroider and loved to serve others. In 1996, Mom found her purpose by combining these two loves. She began hand embroidering baby quilts and donating them to various organizations over the years. She would devote each of her days to this effort until 2024, and donated all of these quilts to disadvantaged families through Project Linus, ABC Quilts, Adventist Hospital, Edward Hospital, Good Sam Hospital or Marillac House of Chicago with strict instructions that they were only to be given to families in need. People offered to pay her to make one for their babies, but she refused, they were only to go to people would could not afford to buy their own. Thankfully, these organizations did profusely recognize Mom for her donations.

I’ll wrap this up by sharing that Mom was a junk food junkie over the last several years of her life. Her table next to her chair looked like a 7-11 shelf. She always needed her Ritz Crackers, cheese, fresh and dried fruit, cookies, cashews, popcorn, potato chips and assorted candies especially chocolate. She really loved her Peanut Clusters! In early 2022, she asked me to order her 6 CASES of Peanut Clusters, which I reluctantly did, but the vendor sent double what was ordered and we received 150 packages! This made her very happy, and ensured that she would not run out. She should have weighed 300 lbs. but surprisingly didn’t. She left this worldly existence with 40 packages unopened, but she left with her sweet tooth satisfied.

Mom was the best, most loving and most caring person I have ever known, and I wish for her peaceful rest into eternity. Her family is listed below to show the 5 generations that she headed up.

Lorna was the mother of Yvonne Starks (William), Fred Griffith, and Kathleen Griffith; cherished grandmother of Dena Wager, Michelle Stigler (Terry), William Starks Jr., and Danielle Olexa; loving great-grandmother of Kevin Morales, Tyler Godfrey (Deanna), Khristopher Godfrey, David Morris Jr., Jessica Pitts, Connor Starks and the late Alexa Godfrey; great-great-grandmother of Brecken Morris, Miya Morris, Kyan Godfrey, and Esme Godfrey; dear sister of Ann (Elwood) Bechtel, the late Elna Bargman, the late Irma Heinemann, and the late Edwin Growth.

A graveside service for Lorna will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Cumberland Memorial Gardens, 4509 Raeford Rd, Fayetteville, North Carolina.