Griffith

Oren Griffith, 63, of Glenville, Minnesota, died peacefully on Monday, March 14, 2016, at St. Mark’s Living after a nine-month battle with cancer.

Oren C. Griffith was born on June 26, 1952, in Worthington to Darlene (Hass) and Francis (Sass) W. Griffith. He attended schools in many cities — Worthington, Redwood Falls, Mankato, Hallock, graduating from Albert Lea High School in 1970. Oren was employed by Streater Inc. for 14 years where he made many life-long friends. He then was employed with the Albert Lea School District for over 9-and-a-half years as a custodial engineer until his retirement in September 2015. He got much enjoyment from working at the high school; he knew the students by name and they knew Oren by name. He also always spoke highly of his co-workers. Throughout his entire life, Oren’s favorite activities where hunting and fishing. He looked forward each spring to opening fishing season on Lake Winnibigoshish. Fall would find him heading to Hallock, Minnesota for deer hunting. Oren’s love for those sports began as a young boy hunting and fishing with his father. Later in life he enjoyed many trips with friends and family to northern Minnesota looking to catch that 25-pound walleye or shoot the 30-point buck! The last fish he caught was in June at his sister’s cabin in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. Oren was also known for this gardening skills; so many of us enjoyed his salsa and remember him canning tomatoes with his mom.

Oren was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his siblings, Terry (Elaine) Griffith, Penny (Robert) Donner, Wayne (Grace) Griffith, Debra (Paul) Leif, and Nicole Griffith; 13 nieces and nephews; many great-nieces and nephews. He very much enjoyed their visits these past months.

We were all able to share many past memories with Oren while at St. Mark’s. His sense of humor was enjoyed by everyone. He also had many frequent visits from his life-long buddies – it always made his day. We would also like to thank the nursing staff at St. Mark’s who took care of Oren. He was very grateful for that as well as their many conversations. Also thanks to St. Croix Hospice for their awesome care and visits. Oren had a wonderful and caring spirit, as well as a loving heart for both his family and friends, and he never forgot to tell us that on every visit! We will all miss him and his presence in our lives.

Memorial services for Oren will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, 2016, at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home. The Rev. Vern Harris will officiate. Interment will be at Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15, 2016, at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to The Hormel Institute in Austin, Minnesota, as they are making great strides in cancer research.