Naida Griffin

Naida Griffin Naida Rosalie Griffin, 97, passed away Friday, April 28, 2006, at Pinecrest Medical Care Facility in Powers.

She was born July 2, 1908, in Harrison to Don Lee and Flavia Jane (nee Neikirk) Schaaf.

She grew up on farms in Harrison and Neebish Island.

She married Michael J. Griffin March 3, 1927, in Sault Ste. Marie. While her husband was in the Coast Guard, they lived in various cities around the country. Most of her married life was spent on the St. Marys River near Barbeau.

During those years, she taught Sunday school and taught sewing to 4-H children. Mrs. Griffin baked pies for a local restaurant and baked special cakes for her grandchildren and for church and community events. She gave her descendents the family Buttermilk Pancake recipe and a love of baking pies and cakes, family members recalled. In recent years, she lived with each of her children at various times. In 2000, she moved to a senior citizen home near Escanaba.

Mrs. Griffin was a member of the Donaldson Presbyterian Church and the St. Marys Homemakers Club. She enjoyed gardening, sewing, reading, and family holiday dinners and reunions.

She is survived by one son and his family, Don A. and Laurine Griffin of Dearborn, ; one daughter, Gayle Jane Griffin of Green Bay, Wisconsin; five grandsons and their families, Randall and Gianina, Timothy, Dale, Russell and Chris, and Richard and Tammy Griffin; seven granddaughters and their families, Jill Gregorich, Jane and Thomas Conine, Janet and Michael VanDyck, Donna Griffin, Laura and Randy Atkin, Caroline Griffin, and Julie and Jerome Koppen; 24 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Michael, in 1965; her son, Robert K. Griffin; one sister, C'Dale McKenna; and three brothers, Willard, Ronald, and Jack Schaaf.

Services will be Wednesday, May 3, at 1:30 p.m. at Donaldson Presbyterian Church with Pastor Kenn Filkins officiating. The family will receive friends at the church from 11:30 a.m. until the time of the service.

Burial will be at Oaklawn Chapel Gardens in Bruce Township.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Donaldson Presbyterian Church, 13036 S. M129, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783 or Pinecrest Medical Care Facility Activities Department, P.O. Box 603, Powers, Michigan 49874-0603.

Reamer Galer Funeral Home of Pickford is serving the family.