John M. Griffith

GRIFFITH, John M., age 95 of Friendship Village, passed away Thursday, January 5, 2017. He was born November 26, 1921 in Miami County, OH, son of the late H. Grant & Clara E. (Witters) Griffith. John graduated from Roosevelt HS, Dayton, Class of 1940 . He enlisted in the US Navy in January 1942 and served until January 1947, where he served on ships in both the Atlantic and Pacific during WW II as a Gunner’s Mate, Second Class. Among other engagements, John was present for the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942 and MacArthur's return to the Philippines in 1944. He worked at Master Electric in Dayton before and immediately after his WW II service, then operated a SOHIO service station in North Dayton for 25 years. He then was Parts Manager at a Dayton auto dealership for several years until retiring in the early 1980s. Beginning in 1989, John was actively involved for more than a decade with annual reunions of the crew members of PC 1120, a ship on which he served in WW II, hosting the reunion activities in Dayton in 1997. Predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Phyllis Griffith, in July 2015, John is survived by his son, Terry Griffith & his wife, Lila, of Sausalito, CA, his grandson, Jeff Griffith & his wife, Mairin, of Houston, TX, and his great granddaughter, Maeve Griffith, of Houston TX. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 am, Tuesday, January 10 at the Morton & Whetstone Funeral Home, 139 S. Dixie Dr., Vandalia. Interment will follow at Woodland Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday morning from 10:00 am until time of service.