William Henry Griffith Iii

William Henry Griffith III "Bill"
July 11, 1937 February 24, 2019

William Henry Griffith III, "My wonderful husband Bill" received his final healing from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on February 24, 2019. He passed peacefully in his sleep with his wife, Linda Griffith, "Sweet Linda" by his side. He fought a valiant battle with cancer because he wanted to extend his time with his beloved family. He was blessed with almost an extra year and a half. As a patriarch, he excelled. His family is his living memorial. Family and friends were extremely important to him. He brought joy and humor into the lives of those who knew him. His laugh was a memorable and a delightful part of his personality. As a man of strong faith, he loved the Lord and had an intimate relation with his Lord and Savior. When he was healthy he always participated actively in the church leadership.

He was a man of many interests. He had a successful career in marketing, working for MacMillan Bloedel a Canadian based Forest Products Company. He also enjoyed many hobbies. Building museum quality model ships from scratch was his true passion. He was a voracious reader and enjoyed all kinds of books.
Camping and enjoying the glory of God's creation was a shared love of ours. When we were first married we bought a small camper van and tent. We camped all over the western states and even went back across the country to the east coast one summer. In July of 1991 we gave up camping a bought a cabin in Big Bear, which we kept for 23 years. It was a true joy to us and our whole family. Deciding we needed some adventure in our lives, we purchased a large motor home in 2012 and traveled all around the U.S.A and Canada for four months every summer. We saw so many places and shared lots of wonderful memories.

He was born on July 11, 1937 in Huntington Park, to William H. Griffith Jr. and to Sue "Totsy" Hensley Griffith. We met in Long Beach on September 11, 1968 and were married on August 16, 1969 and lived in Long Beach until I retired in 2004. Then we moved to Indian Wells in February of 2005. While we celebrated our 49th Anniversary last August, we had 50 wonderful years together. He was predeceased by his father Bill, his mother Sue, and his sister Judy. He is survived by his wife, "Sweet Linda," his daughters Kellie Griffith Lemon, Kimber Griffith Elston, her husband Randy Elston, his grandchildren, Will Lemon and his wife Brandi Wells Lemon, Drew Lemon, Cambria Lemon Rueda, her husband Londo Rueda, Tatiana Lemon, Katia Lemon, Sean Elston, his wife Rieko Suda Elston, Bryce Elston, Brenly Elston, his great granddaughter, Ruby June Lemon, his sister Sharon Hight, and her husband Wally.

He was interred on Saturday March 2, 2019 at Forrest Lawn in Cathedral City in a private family service.

A Memorial Service will be held at Hope Lutheran Church, at 45-900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert, 92260 on March 30, 2019 at 2:00pm. There will be a reception following at the Church.