Richard “Dick” Griffith, was born into eternal life on July 14, 2020 at his rural Pittsboro home, with his loving family by his side. He had fought a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer. 

Friends and family will gather from 4 pm until 7 pm, Wednesday, July 22 in the Eric MD Bell Funeral Home in Pittsboro and additionally at the funeral home, from 8 am until 9 am, Thursday, July 23 until the time of procession to the Mass. All are requested to wear a mask and follow proper social distancing guidelines.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated at 10 am, Thursday, July 23, 2020 in St. Malachy Catholic Church, Brownsburg, IN,  Burial will follow in St. Malachy West Cemetery, Pittsboro.

Born August 16, 1941, Dick was the youngest son of William and Vera Mae Griffith of Acton Indiana. He graduated from Franklin Township High School in 1959. Dick met his future wife Liz after seeing her in the Marion County queen contest and getting her to out with him via a blind date. They were later married on August 17, 1963. Dick and Liz started their lives together on a dairy farm in Acton and later leased a dairy farm for several years on the site that is now Prestwick Golf Course in Avon. They purchased their farm in Pittsboro in 1970 and have lived here ever since.

Dick loved telling stories. These included childhood memories as well as experiences with family and friends. His children often huddled around the kitchen table, listening and laughing as he shared memories from past years. This same tradition continued as the family grew, with his daughters-in-law and grandchildren enjoying the stories just as much. Along the way, new details seemed to emerge and the stories may have changed from time to time, but the result was always the same - eyes glued to Dick as he recalled his experiences and much laughter throughout. A few of the story favorites centered around the passenger train incident, knocking Billy out with the barn shovel, wrecking his motorcycle and not wanting his dad to find out, and aliens in the cornfield.

Dick had an incredible love for his family and was always there when someone needed a hand. Second to his family was his love of his dogs. Dick was often referred to by family members as the Dog Whisperer. But it wasn’t just the dogs as Dick always seemed to have a barn full of cats. There was always a dog by his side and many times, cats following close behind. The dogs didn’t just stay on the farm. You could find them riding shotgun as he drove around farming, picking up parts, or just visiting the neighbors.

Visiting others was a major part of Dick’s life. If he wasn’t over at someone else’s home, then they were at his. There was rarely a specific purpose to the visits; however, conversations would go on for hours and many times his children were right there by his side taking it all in.

Over the years, many young men came to help out on the farm. From time to time they would come back to visit and share their memories with the family. Many showed up during the last few weeks of Dick’s life to see him one last time. It meant a lot to hear them talk about just how much Dick meant to all of them and how he positively impacted their lives. Of course they also talked about the lunches Liz would prepare and how Dick always wanted to take some time to play games. The game of choice at the Griffith farm was Croquet. It wouldn’t be unusual to drive by the farm after lunch and see Dick, his sons,and their friends out playing a game of Croquet. If you knew Dick well, then you knew he didn’t like to lose.

It wasn’t just Croquet that Dick enjoyed playing. He had a number of card games that he enjoyed. There were countless evenings spent at the kitchen table at the farm or at one of their many friends’ homes playing cards. He was always trying to bring others together to play. He loved explaining the rules, and often he would leave out a few, conveniently bring them up later when it would benefit him the most.

So many around town didn’t know Dick as a farmer; they knew him as a bus driver. Dick initially substituted for Liz when she needed the assistance, but later started driving full time for a total of just over 30 years. What Dick enjoyed most was getting the opportunity to drive the bus for many of the girls’ high school sports teams (volleyball, basketball, and softball). He was described by many over the years as their biggest fan. If you attended a game, you would know he was there. He could be heard cheering, encouraging, and sometimes loudly expressing his opinion about something he didn’t like. Often, past players would come by to say hello and sit and share their memories with him from their high school years.

One of Dick’s favorite summertime activities was his annual sweet corn harvest. It became a tradition for so many to see the handmade signs going up along the road, signifying that the sweet corn was ready for sale. Dick always seemed to plant more than he could sell, and what he enjoyed most was simply driving around and giving corn away to many of his close friends.

Dick is survived by his wife Elizabeth, brother William Griffith and sister Judy (Griffith) Meyer. Dick had 3 sons, Rick (Shannon), Tim (Lori), and Mike (Cindy), 7 grandchildren and 4 step-grandchildren.
 

Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.