Sisters remembers a quiet contributor

Photo provided

John Griffith was involved in a wide range of volunteer activities in Sisters Country.

A very special Sisters resident left us on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, while at Partners in Care Hospice House, following an unexpected diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia one week earlier.

John Griffith, known to many of us from his inexhaustible volunteer work throughout the region, as well as his stint as a freelance writer for The Nugget, was a man of intellect and heart. He was a great conversationalist with knowledge of and interest in a myriad of topics. He was generous with his time and talent and always willing to lend a hand.

After a career in California in technology, John went back to school at California State Fresno to get his K-12 teaching credential. In August 2003, he began his five years as a teacher and coach at Central Union Elementary in Lemoore, CA. After moving to Sisters, John chose to teach in therapeutic boarding schools and residential treatment centers with at-risk teens.

The impact John had during his life is evident in comments from his daughter and Sisters friends. Everyone agreed how much he is missed.

Photo provided

John Griffith with his granddaughter Kaitlyn at her college graduation.

Debbie Griffith, daughter

"My dad always inspired me to be curious, to seek understanding, and to not sweat the small stuff. He was an incredible example of hard work and dedication, values that he lived by every single day. Above all, he loved his family deeply and adored his granddaughter, Kaitlyn. His presence in our lives was a gift, and the memories we shared will remain with us forever.

"My dad had a passion for the outdoors and found great joy in living in Sisters. He embraced the beauty of nature and loved sharing his adventures with us. Through his pictures and stories, he brought the wonder of his hiking experiences to life. When we visited, he would take us on short hikes, creating cherished moments that we will always treasure. His love for the outdoors was not just a personal passion but something he generously shared with those around him.

"He was also deeply committed to his community and gave his time as a volunteer on various committees and at local festivals. My dad took pride in contributing to causes that mattered to him, and his efforts left a meaningful impact.

"One of his proudest achievements was his work raising funds for Partners in Care Hospice. He spoke often of the importance of their mission and was dedicated to supporting their efforts. Our family is eternally grateful for the care and compassion that Partners in Care provided to him and to all of us during a challenging time. Their kindness and support made an immeasurable difference in our lives.

"My dad's legacy is one of love, curiosity, and service. He taught us to appreciate life's simple joys, to care for one another, and to always strive to make a positive impact. While he may no longer be with us, his spirit lives on in the lessons he taught us and the love he shared. We will carry his memory in our hearts always."

Bill Willitts, friend and fellow volunteer

"John was my sidekick in our many community service adventures and misadventures.

"When we began Pursue Your Passion (teaching entrepreneurship to our high school students) John was all in. Together, with the assistance of a great team, we delivered business planning and inspiration to some amazing young minds. The program ran for three years. The student friendships are running forever.

"Next, John and I, along with other team members, endeavored to raise money for the new Partners In Care Hospice 12-unit facility. At first John declined but a day later he called to confirm he was in. Our goal was to raise $100,000. Our Nugget advertising showed a hiker climbing a tall peak to the goal. When our generous community assisted us in exceeding our goal, we didn't know what to do with our hiker, so we just kept climbing.

"John and I shared a primary goal. To alleviate root causes of poverty and to create safe housing for all members of our community. To that end we met with and supported a gubernatorial candidate who had amazing credentials but was disqualified based on a residency issue. Our draft plan never saw the light of day.

"Over the past few years, John and I enjoyed regular coffee conversations. Nothing was off limits. His honesty, integrity, and deep commitment to our community were always present.

"We shared a 20-year friendship. I loved John."

Jim Cornelius, editor and friend

"John was a deeply thoughtful man. He did good work for The Nugget as a City reporter and covering the Sisters School District. He always saw the broader context of issues that those entities faced, and the deeper stories behind people's actions. While I appreciated John as a freelancer, what I enjoyed most was our conversations about Cormac McCarthy's books and about music. We had simpatico tastes and interests in those things, and really digging in and sharing perspectives, songs, and stories was a delight. He was a friend and I miss him."

Toni Landis, fellow volunteer

"My friendship with John developed over several years starting with a chance conversation at a Heart of Oregon/Habitat build meeting. He was mentoring Heart of Oregon youth I believe. I was working with the Habitat Builders program and had an intense desire to meld Heart of Oregon kids with Habitat volunteers and homeowners. Toward the end of the gathering he walked up to me and handed me a professional-looking blue folder outlining his mentorship program.

"I think you need to read this. It is the direction you might want to go. Let's talk." Well, it did, we did, and we grew from there.

"Our paths crossed as volunteers as we moved in the same directions. His leadership and vision working with early Age Friendly Sisters Country (AFSC) was extremely influential in its growth and success of its first Action Team, STARS (Sisters Transportation and Ride Share).

"John worked behind the scenes writing for The Nugget, volunteering and crafting a volunteer data base for Sisters, guiding AFSC as president, plus a myriad of other activities as a Sisters resident. He was a facilitator but always with a clear purpose in mind - help people be more of who they are. What a loss."

Sue Stafford, friend and fellow freelancer

"I first met John when I was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Sisters Folk Festival, and he was a ready and willing volunteer. When he was no longer going to cover the City for The Nugget, he suggested to editor Jim Cornelius that he put me in that spot, and I covered it for seven years. We enjoyed a fun and warm friendship. In the interest of space, I will simply echo all the other comments."

Kay Grady, former Sisters School District board member and friend

"John was the perfect conduit between the Sisters School District and the public while I served on the School Board. His inquisitive nature made him a natural journalist, yet one who always wrote the truth, asked difficult questions, and followed up on his stories for updates. He was a champion of our students and educators. Running into him around town was always a treat. I will miss those serendipitous moments. He was one of a kind to me."

Jim Golden, former SSD superintendent

"I met with John many times during my five years as superintendent in Sisters. Honesty, decency, and a sense of interest in our community to help make it a better place, is what I remember about my many times talking to John!"

Rob Corrigan, fellow teacher, volunteer, and friend

"I met John shortly after he moved to Sisters. As I recall, John was in "networking mode" (was he always in networking mode?), and we got together for coffee and swapped war stories. John had worked at Spectra-Physics earlier in his career, so we swapped war stories about people we both knew from laser development work, and more generally stories about life in the world of Silicon Valley technology, a world quite different from Sisters!

John and I reconnected when he stopped by my classroom at Sisters High School one afternoon to interview me on behalf of The Nugget. I had just started a second career in teaching, something else John had beat me to, him having been a classroom teacher for five years after leaving the world of technology.

Since then, John and I crossed paths many times, mostly in the context of volunteer projects. Whether one-on-one, among a group of friends, or in a more formal committee meeting or anywhere else, I have never heard John express a negative thought about anyone. I think of John as a perceptive, intelligent, warm, and caring person, considerate toward others on a scale both personal and community-wide. More than anything, I will remember John as a person who was deeply kind, in the broadest sense of that word.

All of us in Sisters will need to step up in generosity of spirit and volunteerism to make up for John's absence."

Mac Hay, former Sisters resident

"When I was involved with economic development and EDCO in Sisters, John was very helpful recruiting and working with me for potential new businesses for Sisters. I am sorry to hear of his passing. I really liked him."

Katy Yoder, former Sisters Folk Festival staff

"When I was working for Sisters Folk Festival, John was a constant presence as a do-anything volunteer. He was up on ladders, fetching things we'd forgotten, and chatting it up with concertgoers.

During one of our conversations, John and I realized we shared a past from the Bay Area. His father was involved with the Pleasanton horseracing track, while I grew up on a horse farm in Walnut Creek, just a few miles away. We laughed when we discovered our shared adoration for a horse vet, Bill Nissen, who was both a skilled doctor and a hilarious jokester. Instead of showing up for a horse call in the standard jeans and button-down cotton cowboy shirt, Dr. Nissen wore a myriad of T-shirts with jokes and goofy images.

John and I reminisced about the Northern California we loved and the cast of characters in the horse world. Talking to someone who remembered California in the 1960s and '70s took me back and allowed me to recall the many reasons it was a great place to grow up."

Ann Richardson, staff and head of numerous organizations

"I will always think of John as a gentle soul, caring and compassionate, but with an energy and smile that was infectious. I had the pleasure of volunteering with him (or him for me) on many occasions and he was always totally in, heart and soul, to whatever he committed to. John was one of those quietly engaged, involved, and supportive people who sometimes go unnoticed in our community but do so much. Although our paths haven't crossed much at all lately, I will still miss him. A tremendous guy."