Neil William Griffith

Munising

Neil William Griffith, age 84, of Munising, died peacefully at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, April 3, 2017 at the Tendercare Health Center in Munising following a lengthy illness.  Neil was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 6, 1932 to the late Harold and Sara (Olmstead) Griffith.  The family moved to Munising in 1950 and Neil attended Wm. G. Mather High School where he enjoyed playing football and basketball.  Neil graduated from Mather High School in 1953.  He joined the U.S. Marine Corps but his service time was cut short because of injuries he had sustained during his high school.  Neil was proud of being a Marine and always wore his Marine Corps hat.  He had worked for Hub Perrault at the Red Owl as a meat cutter in the meat department while in high school.   That started his career as a meat cutter and he ended up in California where he was a manager in the meat departments of several stores.  Neil married Shirley Pritchard in 1956 and together raised their daughter, Vikki.  They spent most of their time in California and Shirley preceded him in death in 1988.  Neil enjoyed all California had to offer including panning for gold, scuba diving, fishing, and hunting.

Neil married Louise (Bowerman) Morrissey in 1989 and they returned to their hometown of Munising.  They enjoyed their time together.  Neil liked to go down to the Anna River and feed the ducks while he was reading and listening to the radio.  The casino was one of their favorite places to go together.  Louise preceded him in death in 2013.  Neil returned to his Catholic faith with the guidance of David Bowerman and he looked forward to monthly Mass at Tendercare with Father Chris.

Neil is survived by his daughter – Vikki Griffith-Watson of Paradise, CA; grandsons – Steven (Lindsay) and Tyler; great-grandsons – Kohen and Kaysen; stepchildren - Chris (Judy) Morrissey, Pam Esparza, Danette (Rick) Bedker, Cheryl Parks, Jimmy Morrissey, and Terry (Dawn) Morrissey; numerous step grandchildren; siblings –  Corine (Stanley) Pachla of Clifford, MI, Joyce (Robert) Nelson of AuTrain, and Ken (Eileen) Griffith of AuTrain; and numerous nieces and nephews that loved Uncle Neil.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Shirley and Louise, brother Donald (Katherine Viylene) Griffith, and step son-in-law – Frank Esparza.

A graveside service will be held on Monday, July 3, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Munising.

The family would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the staff at Tendercare who took such good care of their brother.