William Ely Griffin Jr.

William E. (Bill) Griffin Jr., 74, of Lake Park, GA, passed away February 1,2023, and at the end was surrounded by family who loved him very much. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and friend. Bill lived his life on Earth to the fullest and the family draws great comfort from their belief that he was reunited in heaven with his father, William (Bill) Griffin, his mother, Ira (Gene) Griffin, his brother-in-law, Thomas (Tommy) Curtis, and best dog Griff.

Bill is survived by his wife of ten years Michelle Griffin and his children Kathryn Smerker; her husband Joshua (Josh) Smerker and their children Sydney and Samantha (Sam) Smerker. He is also survived by his daughter Megan Martin; her husband Andrew Martin and their children John and Grace (Gracie) Martin. Bill is survived by his sister Patricia (Patty)Curtis and her son William (Scott) Curtis. He is also survived by long-time friends Walt Freeman; his wife Cheryl Freeman as well as Robert (RJ) Palmer.

Bill was born in Sarasota, FL and raised in Hyattsville, MD. He attended the University of Tennessee and was a lifelong Vols fan. Prior to retirement, he worked at the Manatee County Library, Florida State Senate and was a case manager for various children's agencies throughout Florida. Bill had an incredible work ethic which was driven by his need to provide for his daughters who wanted for nothing during their childhood. He often worked two jobs so that he could pay for their braces, sports activities, and college expenses. Kathryn and Megan very much appreciated everything that he provided for them when they were young. Bill had a lot of great stories to tell about his youth whether it was playing bass guitar in the band Brew, hitchhiking out west with his friends or playing in a soccer match at the University of Tennessee. You knew that you would hear an interesting adventure. Lastly, Bill was a music aficionado who loved many different types of music and if you asked him who his favorite band was he would have likely said The Byrds. He was particularly moved by the lyrics in " My Back Pages" and "Turn!, Turn!, Turn!".

The family would like to thank all who were involved in Bill's care during the time that he spend at UF Health Shands Hospital.

The family has requested that any memorial donations be made to Friends of The Library- Valdosta @ www.sgrl.org.  Please indicate that the gift is in memory of William Griffin Jr. 

Crevasse's Simple Cremation is honored to serve the Griffin Family.