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Eugene Griffith Obituary
Eugene ‘Mert’ Griffith, age 82, of Aurora passed away on Monday, December 14, 2020 at CHI Health-St. Francis in Grand Island.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, December 18 at the Aurora United Methodist Church. Pastor Greg Reed will officiate. Inurnment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the Aurora Methodist Church 1104 A St. Current CDC guidelines will be followed. Face masks are required. The service will be livestreamed thru the Aurora United Methodist Church Facebook page. Memorials may be made out to the American Lung Association. Higby-McQuiston Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Eugene Raymond Griffith, the son of Andrew and Gertrude (Neuhart) Griffith, was born at Aurora, on October 11, 1938 and passed away in Grand Island, on December 14, 2020, at the age of 82.
He grew up in Aurora and obtained his G.E.D in May 1958. Gene and Gwen met in Chicago, Illinois when Gene was serving in the U.S. Army and Gwen was in Nursing School. They were married on February 14, 1960 in Calvert City, Kentucky. After their wedding they moved to Louisville, Kentucky where Gene worked for Prudential Heating and Air. While living there, two sons were born to them: Kevin and Bill (William).
In 1965, they moved to Nebraska so Gene could begin farming with his brother, Bill.
Gene was a 4-H Leader when his boys were in 4-H; an NRD Board member, where he received an Agricultural Award in 1991 and a Conservation Award; a Fair Board member; helped with Hunter Education; lifetime member of Pheasants Forever and member of Ducks Unlimited.
One of Gene’s favorite things to do was to follow his grandchildren’s various activities. They all brought him great joy.
Other hobbies included hunting, fishing, gardening and woodworking, but especially making flag cases for veterans and cremation boxes.
He is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Albert ‘Bill’ Griffith; sister-in-law, Shirley Griffith; brother-in-law, Bob Willis; sister, Barbara Weems and brother-in-law, Don Marquardt.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Gwen of Aurora; two sons, Kevin (Teresa) Griffith of Lehigh, Iowa and Bill (Jody) Griffith of Aurora; 5 grandchildren; Travis (Amanda) Griffith of Waconia, MN, Josh (Heather) Griffith of Kearney, Megan Griffith of Aurora, Tanner (Anya) Griffith of Aurora and Austin Griffith of Lincoln; 4 great-grandchildren, Trynley, Walker, Norah and Conner. Gene is also survived by his two sisters, Genene Willis of Aurora, Linda Marquardt of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
