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Former supervisor Raymond P. Griffin dies

by jmaloni

•Taken from the July 17 Island Dispatch

Sat, Jul 18th 2015 10:55 am

Raymond P. Griffin, who served for 16 years as the supervisor of the Town of Grand Island, died June 22, 2015, in New Port Richey, Florida, after a long battle with dementia. He was 90 years old.

Griffin was born in Buffalo, N.Y. It was there that he enlisted in 1943 in the U.S. Army in 1943, in which he served three years in the infantry as a rifleman during World War II. He received numerous awards, including the Silver Star and the Bronze Star. He retired as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1984. Griffin lived a long and rich life as a proud and decorated World War II veteran and traveled the world in his retirement.

He graduated from the University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy with a bachelor's of science degree in 1949. He was the first in his family to attend college. Griffin went on to be employed as a pharmacist until 1963 and was the owner of Lane Drugs on Grand Island from 1955 to 1963. He returned to the pharmacy in 1981 worked for Rite Aid until 1989.

Griffin was elected supervisor of the Town of Grand Island in 1964, and served the town for 16 years. During his stint as supervisor, he was appointed to several Erie County and Niagara County planning boards.

Griffin married Noreen Griffin in 1948. He is survived by Noreen and his five children, Patricia (Randy) Salois, Paul (Debbi) Griffin, Laurie (Ed) Dyl, Brian (Kathy) Griffin, Raymond (Diane) Griffin, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The oldest and youngest of his grandchildren followed in his footsteps into the service: Kristi in the U.S. Coast Guard, and Derek in the U.S. Marines.

Griffin married Donna Randolph Griffin in 1989. The two traveled the world together and spent many winters on the beach in Destin, Florida. Donna passed away in 2005.

He moved to New Port Richey, Florida, to be closer to his family in 2003.

His family said Griffin never cared much for Florida - not the heat, nor the bugs nor most of all, the red-state politics. He lived and died as an old school liberal Democrat, just slightly left of Ted Kennedy, and was proud of it.

Online remembrances can be made at www.morganfuneralhome.com.

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