SAM GRIFFIN

His Story

Sam Griffin was born August 28, 1931 in Parkin, AR to the union of  Sam, Sr. and Mabel Griffin.  He was the last surviving sibling out of seven. 

Sam relocated to Chicago in his early 20’s with his wife Laura and to that union they had seven children. 

Sam accepted Christ at a young age. He was a member of Union Evangelistic Baptist Church for years where he served on the Deacon Board and the Board of Trustee.  Sam then became a member of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church and was a member for over 30 years.  During his time at St. Mark, he was a part of the Men’s Choir and often led songs. 

Sam met his soulmate, Roxie Coleman, who he regularly called “Love”  in 1977 and they were married into holy matrimony October 19, 1991.  They enjoyed attending church gatherings, road trips, horseback riding and bowling. To this union, Sam gained two bonus children.

Sam was employed at Calumet Steel for 35 years before retiring.  To keep himself busy after retirement, he worked in landscaping and janitorial services part-time for a few years.  He often said he did not like sitting down.  Once he entered his late 60’s, early 70’s, he wanted to return to work due to boredom.  He retired from  Matteson School District as a custodian after 10 years.

Sam loved singing and was a very spiritual man of God. He was a big sports fan. He enjoyed family time which included horseback riding, going to the park with his great-grandchildren, and dinners.  He always looked forward to yearly birthday lunches with his buddies, Cook, Elliot and Nixson and visits with his nieces and nephew from Memphis.  He also enjoyed building things as he always wanted to save a dollar on things he could do himself.  His motto was, “If it saves me $5, then I’m doing good”.

At the age of 91, Sam was very independent and still drove.  He would take rides to Chicago just to drop off his famous lemon meringue pie to his Granddaughter Sheriss, or just to “drive around and see if the houses moved” as he would say.  

Sam was called Home Sunday, March 26, 2023. He was preceded in death by: his loving wife, Roxie Griffin; parents, Sam Sr and Mabel Griffin; his siblings, Edward Griffin, Abraham Griffin, Adell Griffin, L.C. Griffin, Charles Griffin, Martha Griffin; a son, Darnell Griffin; and a daughter, Belinda Griffin.

Sam is survived by two daughters, Diana (Eric) Robinson of Nevada and Leneen Coleman; five sons, Sam Griffin III, Melvin Griffin of Georgia, Arvis Griffin, Anthony Griffin of Indiana and Eric (Tracy) Coleman; grandchildren, his special baby girl Sheriss, Denisha, Jaiden, Jasmine, Thomas, Erica, Tierra and Nakya; great-grandchildren; Malik Jr. and Jamal Jr.; with a host of many more grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, as well as close friends.

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