John (Griff) Harry Griffin passed away after a long illness at his home in Nevada City on December 23, 2025. His wife, Pam, was at his side.

He was born on May 24,1949 to Clare Wilbur Griffin and Muriel Martin Spaulding in Palo Alto, California,

The family moved to Nevada City in 1954 when the company John’s father worked for, Litton Engineering Laboratories, moved here from the bay area. John went through local schools graduating from Nevada Union High School in 1967. He then moved to Oregon to attend Oregon State University in Corvallis.

During his first year in Oregon, he met his future wife on a blind date in Eugene, home of the University of Oregon. That fall he moved to Eugene to be closer to Pam. They married in August of 1969. After completing college, they both got jobs in their chosen careers and stayed in Oregon for another five years.

In 1975 John received an offer of a job in Grass Valley and gladly accepted the opportunity to move back to Nevada County. He worked as a welder, machinist, shop maintenance, and later, after computers became commonplace, he learned to write programs and operate computer operated machinery.

John retired in 2016 and enjoyed being able to spend more time with the Nevada County Astronomers Club. He was a co-founder of the club and one of its long-term presidents. He and Pam were also able to get some travelling done prior to some bad news in 2021.

In 2021, after being urged by his wife to see his doctor about his shortness of breath, he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a disease that gradually destroys the lungs ability to expand and breath in oxygen.

A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, January 12, 2026, at 11 AM. It will take place at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Nevada and High Streets in Nevada City, CA. A reception will take place at the Church after the service.

The Family asks that in lieu of flowers you please think of sending a check to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s Endowment Fund. The mailing address is 202 High Street, Nevada City, CA 95959.