ROCHESTER -- The funeral for Thomas E. Griffin will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Christ United Methodist Church in Pine Island; the Revs. Nancy Wheeler Handlon and Greg Strunk will officiate. Interment will be in Pine Island Cemetery.
Mr. Griffin, 89, of Rochester, died Sunday (Nov. 11, 2007) at the Beverly Care Center. Recently, he had been residing at Evergreen Place in Pine Island.
Thomas Edison Griffin was born Feb. 11, 1918, in Owen, Wis. He grew up in West Concord. On March 28, 1943, he married Helen Mae Joslyn in Pine Island. From the early 1950s until 1966, he owned and operated Griffin Pharmacy in Austin, then worked at Ruffalo Drug in Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He took over his father's drug store in West Concord in 1969.
Mr. Griffin earned a Bronze Star for his military service during World War II. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester, and over the years was active in the Rochester Elks Lodge, the West Concord Business Association, Boy Scout troops in Austin and Rochester, and the Austin School Board. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, cooking and baking, and his fruitcakes were sold during holiday fundraisers at the Rochester Repertory Theatre and the West Concord Historical Society.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Thomas Jr. (fiancee Cindy Leach) of Park Rapids, Minn., David (LaVonne) of Pine Island and Kent of Rochester; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two brothers, William and Charles.
Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service Thursday at the church.
Johnson Funeral Homes Services of Rochester is in charge of arrangements.