Thelma Griffith

January 11, 2016

Thelma Griffith

Service Details

Thelma Humphrey Griffith, age 96, went to be with her Lord after a long and full life, Monday, January 11, 2016, at her home in Mission, KS. She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family.

Thelma was born May 7, 1919, in Des Moines, Iowa to Bert and Lucy Humphrey. She graduated from Des Moines North High School in 1937. She also attended Olivet Nazarene College. She married Paul Griffith on January 23, 1941 in Des Moines, Iowa. They started their young married life in Paul’s hometown of Creston, Iowa. To this union, two sons were born, Roger and Roland. The family moved back to Des Moines in 1954.

Thelma worked for the Des Moines School District, primarily at King Elementary. She was a lifelong member of the Des Moines First Church of the Nazarene where she played the piano and organ for many years. She was also a very active member of her Ladies Club for nearly seventy years.

Thelma had a great number of friends and touched many lives over the years. It was always very natural for her to put others first in her life. She and Paul enjoyed a number of vacations traveling “out west.” Paul’s passing in 2004 was a significant loss in her life. In 2013, Thelma moved to Mission, KS to be near her son, Roland and his wife Connie.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul Griffith; father, Bert Humphrey; step-father, Ernest Hochmuth; mother, Lucy Humphrey-Hochmuth; and brother, Ivan Humphrey. Thelma is survived by her sons, Roger (Patricia Duncan) Griffith and Roland (Connie Galloway) Griffith; five grandchildren, Christine Griffith Ludwig, Craig Griffith, Lisa Griffith-Tierney, Douglas Griffith, and James Blake; 11 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren; and three nieces and four nephews.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 26th at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Funeral services will begin at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, January 27th at Des Moines First Church of the Nazarene, 4703 Douglas Avenue in Des Moines followed by burial at Glendale Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Des Moines First Church of the Nazarene.

Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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