- Date Of Birth: February 14, 1922
- Date Of Death: December 2, 2015
- State: Connecticut
Hayden Leavenworth Griswold Jr., 93 of Pompano Beach, Fl and Chatham, MA, a former resident of Manchester, CT, passed away peacefully after a very brief illness on December 2, 2015 in Florida. He is survived by his beloved wife Marjorie (Cushman) Griswold after 71 years of marriage. They were childhood sweethearts. He is also survived by his loving children, Brent Griswold and his wife Carolyn (Rasmussen) Griswold of Manchester as well as his daughter, Diane Tracy (Griswold) Johnston of Cohasset, MA; three grandchildren, Sydney and Chad McConathy and Alexander Johnston; two great-grandchildren, Declan and Hayden McConathy; a brother, Albert Griswold of Peabody, MA. He was predeceased by his brother, James Griswold.
He was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1922 in Rocky Hill, CT to Hayden Leavenworth Griswold Sr. and Maude (Homewood) Griswold. He was a graduate of Manchester High School and the University of Connecticut.
Captain Hayden L. Griswold served as a combat infantry platoon leader responsible for the lives of many men. He was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain on the battlefield of the Battle of the Bulge at age 21. The average life of a 2nd LT in action in combat was 14 minutes. He proudly referred to himself always as an “Army guy”, a G.I. We should all know what those initials stand for.
Hayden served his country and community during and after the war developing his father’s engineering company into a major business. He was a popular leader for the local Masonic Temple, Lodge #73 in Manchester, following in his father’s role as grand worshipful master. At that time it had the largest lodge membership in Connecticut.
