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Phyllis J. Griffin

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[October 22, 2022]  LINCOLN - Phyllis J. Griffin, 87, of Lincoln, passed away on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at 8:46 a.m. at her home.

Service: Green Valley Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2022

Funeral home: Peasley Funeral Home, Lincoln     

Obituary

Phyllis J. Griffin, 87, of Lincoln, passed away on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at 8:46 a.m. at her home.

Graveside services will be at the Green Valley Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2022. Rev. Steve Blaum will officiate. Cremation Rites have been accorded.

Born to Leslie J. and Melvina E. Suiter Leeds on May 18, 1935, in Green Valley, she was united in marriage to Harold “Hal” L. Griffin. He preceded her in death May 4, 2020.

Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Janine (Mike) Furman of Waynesville; and seven grandchildren: Kyle (Chelsea), Corrisa (Chip), and Kelsea Ann (John), all of Minnesota; Christopher (Callie) of Waynesville, Westley (Brooklyn) of Atlanta, Robert (Kaitlyn) of Waterloo, and Jesse (Hannah) of Waynesville. She is also survived by twelve great-grandchildren: Macy, Nigel, Cooper, Kade, Amelia, Lily, Emma, Henry, Jayse, Sydney, Jordyn, and Maddie.

She was preceded in death by one son: Geoffrey Griffin; and six brothers: Paul Leeds, Berne Leeds, Dareld Leeds, Robert Leeds, Lenord Aldrich, and Donnie Aldrich Burrell.

Phyllis was a 1953 graduate of Green Valley High School. She met Harold, the love of her life, at a local square dance in Green Valley in the early 1950s. They courted until his return from Korea in 1954 and married June 5, 1955, the wedding anniversary of his parents, Lloyd E. and Gertrude Willis Griffin.

Phyllis briefly studied nursing at Methodist Hospital, but then chose to pursue her lifelong love of music begun at the tender age of 3 on the piano with her Aunt Estella Leeds Hendrick. She continued with a local teacher and loved to practice singing in the barnyard, serenading the chickens and other farm animals. She studied voice and advanced piano at Bradley University.

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Through the years, Phyllis sang and played for school and church services, and local contests, along with many church revivals, weddings, and funerals. In 1972 she graduated from Millikin University with degrees in Music Education and Voice and Piano Performance. She was proud to have had the privilege to study with retired world-renowned concert pianist, Elizabeth Travis, who remained a friend until her passing.

Having taught school music in Beason beginning in 1972, Phyllis also offered private studio lessons in Decatur and Bloomington/Normal. Her students would number in the hundreds, playing and putting on musicals in local churches, nursing homes and community halls.

Phyllis was a member of Lincoln Christian Church. As the final notes of Phyllis’s life song ends here on earth, a new song full of joy and wonder begins in heaven and she wanted to share her and Hal’s favorite Bible verse: And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is love. Their love story continues in every life they touched. They are greatly missed, and our memories are so very precious.

Memorials may be made to Waynesville Fire & Rescue or Humane Society of Logan County.

Final arrangements are entrusted with Peasley Funeral Home of Lincoln.


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