- Date Of Death: June 15, 2018
- State: Missouri
Reverend Art Griffen went home to his reward on September 7, 2015. His wife, Dorothy Frances (Withrow) joined him on June 15th, 2018.
Art was born August 1, 1920, in Oakwood, Missouri. He was the second of five children. His parents were Joe and Neva (Howard) Griffen.
Dorothy was born on February 10, 1923, the middle child of Fred and Jennie (Winn) Withrow of Hannibal, Missouri.
Art Griffen and Dorothy Withrow were united in marriage on August 31, 1941, in Hannibal, MO. Pearl Harbor intruded on their marital bliss, and Art joined the Marine Corps. He was assigned to the Pacific Theatre of the war. He survived the war and returned to Hannibal.
Soon after Art’s return, he felt a call to the ministry. The Methodist Church accepted him and assigned him to a small church in Iowa while he attended Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. After graduation, he attended Garrett Biblical Institute in Evanston, Illinois. Upon graduation from seminary, he was reassigned to Paris, Missouri.
While at Paris, Art began to feel that something was missing in his ministry. He missed the military. He requested and was accepted for a chaplaincy in the United States Air Force.
His entry into the Air Forceopened up a whole new world for his family.
During their Air Force years, Art and Dorothy were stationed in Texas, New Mexico, Washington D.C., and Nevada. Overseas assignments included Taiwan, Germany, and Vietnam. Art participated in three of the nation’s conflicts: World War II, the Taiwan Straits Crisis, and the Vietnam War. Moving was always stressful for Dorothy, but she accepted the need gracefully, and made government quarters a home for her family wherever she found herself.
Art retired from the Air Force in 1973, as a Lieutenant Colonel. Soon thereafter, he began work on a second Master’s degree. Following graduation, Art and Dorothy resettled in Grandview, Missouri. There, he served in three churches in the Kansas City area. While in Grandview, Art continued his education, earning a Doctorateof Ministry from St. Paul’s School of Theology. While settled in Grandview, Dorothy finally had time to indulge in her favorite pastimes, quilting, crocheting, and, whenever she could corner an opponent, in Scrabble.
Art retired one more time, and he and Dorothy made one more move, this time to Reno, Nevada. They lived there 17 years before Art’s passing in 2015. Dorothy followed Art in 2018. Dorothy will be remembered for her charm, grace and willingness to help others. She will be missed by all she touched.
Art and Dorothy are survived by four children: a son, Robert, his wife Irene, and their son, William; a daughter, Nancy, and her four children, Stephen, Sean, Shannon, and Patrick; a daughter, Jane and her three children, Meghan, Kevin, and Daniel; and a son, Jeffrey, his wife Christine, and their two children, Scott and Matthew.
Additional family includes nineteen great-grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren, Art’s brother, Dan Griffen and several nieces and nephews.
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