Griffin
WAYCROSS — Joseph Robert Griffin, 98, died Saturday, January 3, 2026 at his residence at the Bluffs of Satilla following an illness.
A life-long American patriot with a devout love for freedom and his country, he was noted for his devotion to family and friends, and for his Christian witness displayed through humble service, his words and generosity.
Depending upon the pleasure of those addressing him, he answered to Joseph, J.R., Jerry, “Snook,” “Griff,” “Sarge,” Daddy, Papa, Grandaddy, Grandaddy-Great and Gram-Daddy.
Born the son of James Robert and Margaret Tuten Griffin at the family home on Hicks Street in Waycross on Sept. 14, 1927, he made Waycross his home most of his life.
He was the oldest of six siblings and he outlived all of his brothers and sisters. His childhood was a happy one as he often said that despite being raised during the Great Depression, he and his siblings didn’t know they were poor.
As a child, he disliked school and sometimes played hooky, much to the displeasure of his parents and grandparents. He was also prone to wander through the streets of Waycross unchaperoned as young as age five. He enjoyed hanging out at any one of the town’s many livery stables, watching blacksmiths shoe horses. He recalled that Waycross had several in the early 1930s as motor vehicles coexisted with horse-and-buggy traffic. He fell in love with western movies at the Ritz Theater, although the MGM lion gave him nightmares.
When the family moved to the Pine Valley community near Waresboro when Griffin was about six, he and his siblings experienced rural farm life. For a couple of weeks they had a pet goat which had wandered up. There was much wailing and many tears when the goat’s rightful owner showed up to reclaim “Billy!” Upon the family’s move back to town, Joseph sold copies of the Waycross Journal-Herald on the street as a lad. The newspapers cost four cents each and he would earn one penny for each one he sold. Later, as a teenager, Griffin delivered telegrams all over Waycross on his bicycle. Another job he had was working in the Harris Market grocery store.
He was a Boy Scout under the direction of Thad Dankel. He enjoyed the Scouts immensely, in particular a trip the troop made one summer to Washington, D.C., when he was 12.
In his late teens, Griffin became interested in aviation and earned his pilot’s license. He survived a crash landing when he had to “put down” his Piper Cub in a cornfield along the Brunswick Highway near Woodard’s Chapel Church.
After receiving his education at Wacona High School, he worked at the shoe factory that was located near where the Ware County Courthouse now stands. A pretty young Brantley County teen who also worked there caught his eye. After a courtship, Griffin married the farm girl, Syveta Mae Carter, the love of his life. They were wed in 1948 the day before her 20th birthday.
By then, he was a serviceman in the U.S. Army Air Corps — soon to be renamed the U.S. Air Force — on the cusp of a long and highly decorated career. They were often separated when Griffin received duty orders to remote locations, but he was for the most part stationed on bases that allowed for dependents to accompany him, and the young couple created a family over the course of his 22-year military career. All the while, they kept the local family residence, a house on Mount Pleasant Road (Doghill), and longed to return to “good ol’ Waycross.”
Their children were born on Air Force bases located near the capital cities of Montgomery, Ala. (Gary, their eldest child), then Atlanta (David) and finally Tripoli, Libya (Debbi, the baby). The family lived in such cities as Albany, Ga. and Tampa, Fla. But Joseph was sometimes dispatched for temporary duty (South America, Guam), and in March 1964 was stationed in Saigon, Vietnam for one year. Syveta, Gary, Dave and Deb lived for those 12 months in Waycross.
During his service, Griffin contributed to three war missions — WW II, Korea and Vietnam. He played an integral role in Saigon as a member of the top secret team that assembled the Special Operations Group, laying the groundwork for the Army Rangers commandos, Green Berets and Blue Berets that would perform many daring covert operations and rescue missions as well as uncover the North Vietnamese-Red China network of underground tunnels that the enemy utilized to earn a stalemate in the conflict.
For the duration of his life, Griffin would never divulge details when his children would ask, “What did you do in the war, Daddy?” He always maintained that he had sworn to a top secret oath and was bound by duty to honor it even though the top secret files had been declassified and books and movies had been produced about the Special Operations Group.
Upon retirement from the Air Force, he and the family returned to Waycross. He worked for two years as a salesman at Jacobson’s clothing store downtown, then embarked on another 20year career with the State of Georgia Public Health Department as Chief Sanitarian at the Ware County Health Department, retiring in 1992.
He was civic-minded, serving as a longtime member and officer with the Ware County Exchange Club.
Having been saved by Jesus in early adulthood, his Christian service grew as he grew in Christ over the years. Griffin has been a member of various churches in the community (his current membership is at Pine View Baptist Church), originally and for many years at Calvary Baptist Church in Gilchrist Park, where he was a deacon, Sunday School teacher and chaired various committees.
Blessed with the gift of natural humor and with a love for music and song, the combination of his interests and talents melded in the 1980s when he and Roe Lee, buddies and fellow servants of the Lord at Calvary Baptist, founded a “Hee-Haw” inspired act — Neb, Nub and Newgene and the Real Good Friends – that the public loved. Their performances were very popular at church gatherings, reunions and festivals. They cracked oneliners, told tall tales and funny stories ... and in between the comedy sketches they lip-synched to classic Grand Ole Opry songs, the cornier the better.
J.R., Roe, Charles Mathews, Elmer Shedd, Vernon Shoemaker and others in a revolving cast of characters had great fun with the act for five years.
Widowed at the untimely death of his beloved Syveta in 1994, Joseph immersed himself in the work of Calvary Baptist, making himself “assistant to the pastor” (Brother Ed Elliott) and spending many spare moments and hours at the church, planning special events, teaching Vacation Bible School, carpentering and odd-jobbing. He also visited and ministered in the Gilchrist Park neighborhood and beyond.
Time transpired, and now in his Golden Years, Griffin met and fell in love with a widow, Colleen Tuten. They married in 2008 and God blessed them with 11 great years of happiness and companionship. Griffin was also thereby blessed with a whole ’nother family of new stepchildren, stepgrandchildren and step great grandchildren to go with his own three kids, six grands and six greats.
Seven years ago, his dear Colleen passed. He continued to live in their home west of Waycross alone, though his stepdaughter Linda (Randy) Erdmier lived next door, providing him with much love and many meals. Time, however, took its toll and slowly Griffin’s health deteriorated. He graciously gave up the keys to his car, and would eventually move residency to retirement home care.
Through it all, shining through was his zest for life, Christian witness, kindly smile, infectious humor and love for family, friends and even strangers. These character traits grew as he continued to age. He enjoyed the ability to make anyone laugh, and many have been the times he has cracked up a doctor’s office waiting room filled with patients with his “dad joke” humor As his dementia set in over recent months, he always was blessed to recognize and call by name family members. And he had flashes of mental clarity, another blessing of God. Surprising his family, he begged for “one more Fernandina Beach vacation” last summer. In August, his three children and some of his grands and great grands happily obliged. It was one more precious memory made.
He died peacefully Saturday morning sleeping, warm in his bed.
His survivors include daughter Debbi (Glynn) Hickox; sons Gary (Lisa) Griffin, Dave (Lynne) Griffin; grandchildren, Gram (Karen) Griffin, Erin (Jeff) Blair, Laura (Ian) Sansot, Megan (Jamie) Stewart, Connor (Cheryl) Griffin and Gracie Griffin; great-grandchildren Grayson Blair, Hudson Blair, Wyatt Stewart, Milli Stewart, Tori Griffin and Maelee Sansot; sister-in-law Shelby Griffin; and many nephews, nieces and other relatives including the Valdosta Highway Griffins and the Swamp Road Griffins, Thrifts and Tatums.
Preceding him in death were wives, Syveta and Colleen; sisters Louise (Rufus) Thrift, Marceil (Grady) Wildes; brothers Russell, Ed (Gladys) and Gene (Shelby, who survives).
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, January 8 in the Miles-Odum Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in Mars Hill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.
Visitation will be 4:30 6:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, January 7) at Miles-Odum Funeral Home.
Sympathy may be expressed by signing online at www.milesodumfuneralhome. com.
Miles-Odum Funeral Homes is in charge of arrangements.
