Online Obituaries Benjamin Franklin Griffith passed away at age 52 on May 16, 2012 at M.D. Anderson Hospital. Benjamin was born November 7, 1959 in Minden, La. to the late John and Mary Griffith of Baytown. He was a 1977 graduate of Sterling High School in Baytown, and a 1979 graduate of Lee College. Benjamin also received a B.A. in Spanish and French from the University of Houston. Benjamin received the Diplome de Langue Francasie from the Allaince Francaise de Paris, the Diploma de Espaol como Lengua Extranjera, Nivel Superior by the Universidad de Salamanca through the Embassy of Spain-Education Office. He is survived by his sisters, Keitha Macon and husband Larry of Baytown; Trebie Talbert of Farmerville, LA; brothers, Bobby Joe and wife Dede Griffith of Baytown; John Jr. and wife Emma Griffith of Jasper, AR; and uncle, Benjamin Griffith of Minden, LA. Benjamin is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews who lovingly called him "Paco", and his dear friends, Enid and Thomas Morgan of Houston, and Philippe Bientz of Mexico City. Benjamin first started studying the Spanish language at the age of ten when his family moved from Louisiana to Texas. Since that first seed was planted in junior high school, it sprouted, grew and flourished into a lifelong career and deep rooted love of the language and the many countries where Spanish is spoken. Benjamin's international experience started in high school when he joined the Amigos de las Americas program and worked in community service projects in Honduras '76, Nicaragua '77 and Paraguay '78. In 1979 he did his first study abroad program in Mexico City. In 1981 he studied in Costa Rica with the University of Houston's summer program abroad and the following year, 1982, he received a scholarship from the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston to continue his studies in Madrid, Spain. In 1988 Benjamin began his teaching career at Lamar High School in Houston. He was one of the most recognized teachers in the Houston Independent School District where he taught for 24 years. Throughout his career he was a member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. He was also a member of the Texas Foreign Language Association and presented educational workshops at the local, state and international level. Benjamin was named the first mens soccer coach at Lamar Sr. High school. He created a team from scratch and led several successful seasons -- including at least one advancement to the district playoffs. Benjamin also took hundreds of students to foreign language competitions and mentored students throughout the college application process. His teaching style was to expect students to succeed and to provide them the tools they needed to do so. Benjamin was named 2001 Teacher of the Year at Lamar High School, was given the Outstanding Community Leader Educator Award for Rotary International in 2003, was further named Huesped Distinguido de la Ciudad de Cuernavaca, Mexico-Ayuntamiento de Cuernavaca in 2004, and also qualified as finalist for the 2008 National School Conference Award on International Youth Exchange, received the Lee Keding Award for Teaching Excellence-Lamar High School in 2009. To support his philosophy of "the world as the classroom", Benjamin traveled with student groups throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia. He was the coordinator of a study program at the Cemanahuac Educational Community in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Benjamin was the June 2010 recipient of the Jefferson Award for achievements and contributions to public and community service in Houston. Therefore December 20, 2011 was proclaimed Benjamin Griffith Day by the Mayor of the City of Houston. Benjamin was a true friend of AFS American Field Service students, volunteers and staff and a witness to the importance of hard work, responsibility and the ultimate goals of global compassion, understanding, and equal regard for all persons of the world. At his request, in lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations to: Benjamin Griffith Memorial Fund AFS USA 2356 University Ave W Suite 424 St. Paul, MN 55114 Attn: Field Finance The family would like to thank his caregiver Alfredo Brito-Ulloa, Houston Hospice and the Acute Palliative Care Unit at M.D. Anderson, and everyone who touched his life in such a positive way. "I have traveled the world thru life and now I'm free to travel the universe. Peace" Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Gathering to be held in the Miller Celebration of Life House from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., Sunday May 20, 2012.