Joshua John Griffin

July 16, 1977 – July 22, 2021

Joshua John Griffin came into this world on July 16, 1977. He had such a beautiful head of blonde hair that the nurses called him the “Robert Redford of the nursery.” He was nearly three weeks late. He could already hold his head up and the day after we took him home, he reached out and grabbed the cat that was walking along the sofa where he lay. From then on, Joshua was always late to everything. He epitomized the cliché “a day late and a dollar short.” The consequences, however, were often brutal.

Beginning when he was a teen, Joshua didn’t argue or protest against his assigned chores like some of his siblings did, he just silently slipped out the back. We never knew how long he would be gone – hours, days, weeks, months and even years. Then he would suddenly appear at some family function; but before we knew it, he would vanish again – no goodbyes.

He was a little daredevil before he could even walk. It started with climbing the bookcase up to the ceiling, advanced to jumping off the playground forts at 18 months, climbing the basalt cliffs with a broken leg when he was in first grade, skateboarding on roofs, climbing water towers. I am sure the list is endless. He certainly put his guardian angel to the test.

Although Joshua was not actively involved in a church, he had a strong testimony of Jesus and those angels. He had the Archangel Michael tattooed on his arm. Some of his antics and shortcomings took him to places where he had a lot of time to read many diverse books, which included a plethora of spiritual/religious writings. During these times, he wrote a lot of letters and shared what he had learned and felt. Joshua was an incredibly talented artist. He often used his talent to help his fellow inmates and earn a bit of commissary funds by illustrating greeting cards. Joshua’s family members cherish the cards and art he gave as gifts. He earned high grades with two applied science degrees for automotive body repair and graphic art. As an adult, he never had a real home or any of the things that we all take for granted. However, I was told once by someone who was serving in the warming center and had gotten to know him that despite his own situation, Josh would travel through town, checking on other homeless people, asking if they needed anything. Then as he went, he would try to procure those things and deliver them on his way back. His heart was big and he gave or served as best he could.

Joshua’s greatest joy and regrets stemmed from his two beautiful children, Emberly and Christopher. He was never in a good place to be a good and present dad, but in recent times he was able to freely communicate with them and give them gifts. We were all looking forward to getting them together in person.

So now he has done it again, slipped away too soon. He left us on July 22, 2021. Once again, he was foolishly doing something I know I have told him a million times to not do. Those canals were not made for swimming. I don’t know if his guardian angel failed him or if it was his time to go, but I choose to believe he has gone to a better place, where he will be esteemed by his heart and not his brokenness.

Memorial services are still being planned. In lieu of flowers, please give money, time, whatever you may have, to the warming center and local food bank.