Richard Lee Griffin

Richard Lee Griffin, age 82, passed from mortal existence to eternal life on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. He was born August 27, 1942 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Carl and Elvira (Hollmichael) Griffin. Richard leaves behind his wife Grace (married happily for 42 years) and his sister Barbara Peterson, and nieces Sheryl (husband Bob McMannis and their 3 children: Jacob, Andrew, and Alexandra); Dena Williams (and her son Peter); and nephew Leland (and his twin daughters: Adelina and Josephina).

Richard loved growing up at Angle Lake, SeaTac, WA., where his parents lived for 50 years. Richard was a great swimmer and loved his dog Smokey. His middle school years were spent in Tokyo where NorthWest Airlines transferred the Griffins. Richard’s later teen years were spent fixing cars and car racing, and working at Boeing & NWA. Richard served in the USAF as a weather observer. He earned 2 degrees (an A.A. & an A.S.in Computer Science from Santa Barbara City College).

His paychecks from working as a BMW mechanic went toward financing his love of cars, sailing, mountain biking, and skiing. He loved being in nature. His best and most challenging job was at Able Engineering Co. where he built and tested a 200 foot deployable structure for the NASA space station. Richard was a man of determination and integrity.

Richard came to trust God as his relationship with Grace became serious and together they renewed their faith in the Lord and married in 1982 in Santa Barbara. Richard was a faithful and gentle husband. As his parents aged, Richard and Grace moved to Bellingham in 1989 to be closer to them.

Richard & Grace volunteered to join the Chuckanut Fire Dept. in the 1990’s. He enjoyed hiking through the Chuckanut hills with his big dogs Tika and Terra.

After being laid off by Boeing, Richard earned another A.S. Degree in I.T. at Skagit CC. Then in 2002 he began managing a rental and assisted Grace with the International Student Ministry at First Presbyterian Church.

Volunteering with the Bellingham Red Cross, he helped with crises across the USA. As Parkinson’s Disease stole Richard’s strength and stamina, his last volunteer commitment was delivering meds for Whatcom Hospice.

We owe a huge thank you to Whatcom Hospice with helping us as Richard’s health declined to his death.

More exciting details of Richard’s life will be revealed at a Celebration of his Life to be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM at the Cordata Presbyterian Church, 400 Meadowbrook Court, Bellingham, WA 98226. Family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Lighthouse Mission Ministries, 1312 “F” Street, Bellingham, WA 98226.