Shirley Jean Griffith, 87, of Greenville died Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013, at her home.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the First United Methodist Church in Greenville. Funeral services will follow at noon at the church with the Rev. Dr. Shalom Renner and the Rev. Dr. Charles Reed officiating.
Burial will follow in New Douglas. Donnell-Wiegand Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Griffith was born in Kane on March 18, 1926, the daughter of the late Eric H. and Ina M. (Rohde) Griffith.
Throughout her childhood she lived in several southern Illinois towns due to her father's job as a school principal. Her teenage years were spent in Joppa where she graduated from high school in 1944. She graduated from Draughn's Business College in Paducah, KY, a year later and went to work in St. Louis where she lived for 31 years.
Mrs. Griffith was first briefly employed at the Small Arms Plant until World War II ended. Then she worked for Willis Hadley for 33 years with two companies, Hadley Dean Glass Co. and Crown, Cork and Seal, and as his private secretary. Before retirement, she worked for Mercantile, now U.S. Bank, for ten years.
She was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt and great-aunt. She cared for her mother after moving to Greenville in 1976 and helped with her sister Judy's children. In her last years, she cared for her sister, Leta.
Mrs. Griffith loved music, especially peppy music. She once played piano for a gospel music quartet. She delighted in stories about her sisters' children and grandchildren. To them, she was known as YaYa, a name given to her by her nephew, B.J., when he was a baby.
She is survived by her sisters, Leta Collier of Greensboro, NC, and Judith (William D.) Schneck of Greenville; niece and nephews, Suzanne (Mitchell) Johnson, Sam (Jane) Collier, William J. (Laurie) Schneck and Randall Schneck; great-nieces and nephews, Christopher and Larson Collier, Rachel, Natalie and Mark Johnson and William and Maelynn Schneck.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Griffith was preceded in death by a niece, Julianne Marie Schneck; and brother-in-law, Dr. S.D. Collier.
Memorials may be directed to the American Diabetes Association or the Greenville College jazz band.
