Emory Everett Griffith

Emory Everett Griffith, 73 years young, passed away surrounded by his greatest blessings of all, his family, at his residence early Sunday morning.

Emory was born September 9, 1939 to the late Emery Everett Griffith and Jewel Overton Griffith in Powellton, West Virginia. After graduating high school from Montgomery, West Virginia in 1959, he met Carol Rose Lucas. Together, they share five children and 51 years of marriage and love. Emory finished several technical programs to learn welding and became a machinist for General Motors. While working with GM he heard about a piece of land in Hampshire, Tennessee where he would eventually wonder through the hills and woods with his “Partner,” his youngest grandson.

The family expressed in this past year that he was not dying, he was just now coming alive. He was a fighter of Stage IV lung cancer and never gave up. Emory fought to stay with his family to watch his grandchildren grow older. His grandchildren kept him going and were responsible for so many of his smiles. He had a nickname for each one of them.

Besides being a fighter there was so much more to the man that friends and family called Pa, PawPaw, PaPa, and Dude. Emory was a gardener , having raised a big garden every year to share with his neighbors. Papa was a deer hunter where he would visit West Virginia every year for a week with family. He was also the biggest West Virginia Mountaineers football and basketball fan. Mr. Griffith was a man of positive faith with laughter being his cure. After he lost his hair to chemo, the family was able to find laughter in giving a bristle-less brush coining the term, “Bald Man’s Hairbrush.”

“We already miss him dearly, and I imagine we will continue to miss him every single day. But we've found peace in knowing he's no longer in pain, no more awful medication side effects or radiation to endure ever again. We know he wouldn't want us to be sad so we’re staying strong for him just like he's been strong for us this last year. The word surrender isn't in his vocabulary. He's never been the kind of man to "wave the white flag" or even pack one just incase. He will go out in battle, because that's all a real soldier knows.”

The family will take Emory to West Virginia to spread his blessings in the hunting ground he loved and inurn the remainder with his parents.

In addition to his wife Carol of 51 years; Emory is survived by his children: Crystal Renee (Gary) Bunch of Jacksboro, TN, Tina Linette Griffith of Hampshire, Lisa Beth (Keith) Parker of Covington, GA, Emory Everett (Kristen) Griffith III of Loganville, GA, Rafe Chandler (Christine) Griffith of Loganville, GA; his very prized possessions, 12 grandchildren: Amber Mayes, Samuel and Cari Silva, Emily (Eric Sensat) Griffith and Emory Griffith, Ivy (Josh Nance) Parker, Brianna ,Brett and Ali Griffith, McKenzie, Kylee and Alana Griffith; 3 great grandchildren: Kaylee, Hayden and Natalie; 3 step grandchildren; brothers and sisters: Roger (Sharon) Griffith, Phyllis Hudson, Linda ( John) Lynch, and Janice Westfall; and a host of nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his best friend, his Pomeranian sidekick “Lil Man.” He is preceded in death by a brother Kenneth Griffith.

In lieu of flowers, Emory wishes family and friends would make memorials to the American Cancer Society.