John W Griffin

John W. Griffin, Sr. of Denver, Colorado died at his home in Denver April 26, 2011. CELEBRATION OF LIFE SERVICE (KANSAS) will be held at Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S. Main Street on the Hesston College Campus - Hesston, Kansas, on May 14, 2011 at 2 pm. CELEBRATION OF LIFE SERVICE (COLORADO) will be held at First Mennonite Church, 430 W. Ninth Avenue Denver, Colorado on May 21, 2011 at 2 pm. John was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie, and is survived by his wife, Jan, his daughter, Rochelle Griffin(Jantien Lodder) of The Netherlands and his son, John Griffin, Jr. (Jill Griffin) and three grandchildren, Austin, Casey and Elyse Griffin of Hesston, Kansas. John graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa where he and Elsie established a student scholarship. He continued his educational pursuits receiving a master's degree in school administration and curriculum from Columbia University. Then he completed his doctoral studies at the Michigan State University. In his early career he taught math and science. In one small school, he taught math and science and was also the Principal and basketball coach. He moved on to serving as Principal and took a leadership role in developing and implementing new school facilities. The position he enjoyed most was serving as Superintendent of The American International School of The Hague in The Netherlands. John established Stewardship Counseling, Inc., providing charitable estate planning working with non-profit institutions such as colleges, hospitals, nursing homes and community foundations in Kansas and across the country. He has often been referred to by peers as a pioneer in the field of philanthropy. Over the years John worked with Central Kansas Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Southwest Kansas, Emporia State University Foundation, Mennonite Brethren Foundation, Western Kansas Community Foundation and South Central Community Foundation. He was instrumental in helping to establish several of these community foundations. In South Dakota, he worked with the Watertown Community Foundation and South Dakota Community Foundation. In addition, he did consulting work with several colleges and universities such as Eastern Mennonite University, Emporia State University, Hesston College, Southwestern College and Tabor College. In the event you are not able to attend the service in person, you may wish to view the service live on line at www.hesston.edu/Griffin. In lieu of flowers, should you wish to make a memorial contribution in John's honor, the family suggests that you make a contribution to your favorite charity, church, college, university or community foundation. Please share your memories of John and condolences with his family by visiting the ""Sign GuestBook"" link below.