Richard Earl Griffith

Richard Earl "Griff" Griffith, 87, of Waterloo, died at ManorCare Health Services on Thursday, December 20, 2018, following a short illness.

He was born July 21, 1931 in Des Moines, the son of Charles and Amanda Conrath Griffith. Griff graduated from Mason City High School in 1949 and then attended Mason City Junior College. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict.

He married Lois Ruth Gump July 6, 1951 in Oakdale, IA.

He operated Griff's Deep Rock & Car Wash for 23 years from 1958‑1981 and then was a Service Writer for Rydell Chevrolet’s Service Dept., retiring in 1996.

Griff attended St. Paul's United Methodist Church and was a member of VFW Post #1623 and American Legion Post #138 for many years. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren and attended all their sporting events, school programs, and other activities. He was interested in genealogy research. He had also been named Man of the Year in 2017 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Lois; daughter, Catherine (Keith) Smith of Waterloo; daughter, Karen (Kevin) DeSerano of Evansdale; son, Eric (Janae) Griffith, Ankeny; 11 grandchildren: Jennifer (Tim) Jensen, Thomas (Lacie) Westendorf, Amy (Jeremey) Stevens, Leah Smith, Adam Smith, Bradley (Liz) DeSerano, Jordan DeSerano, Kelli DeSerano, Danielle DeSerano, Cameron (Rachel) Griffith, and Quincy Griffith; and 9 great grandchildren: Jocelyn, Fletcher, Chase, Chloe, Mayson, Natalie, Neela, Peter and Gregory.

He is preceded in death by his parents and 3 brothers: Jack, Don and Paul Griffith.