Charles Russell Griffin

Charles Russell Griffin, age 83, died peacefully at his residence on Friday, November 8, 2019.

A native of Fort Mill, South Carolina, he was the son of the late Claxton Lafayette Griffin and Lula Mae (Neal) Griffin.  He relocated to Edgewater in 1998 from Odenton, Maryland.

Mr. Griffin was a NASA Electro-Mechanical Designer with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD and as NASA Field Operations Manager for the Space Shuttle Small Payloads Project at Kennedy Space Center.  He retired from NASA in 2001 after 36 years of dedicated service.  During his tenure with NASA, he was the recipient of numerous honor awards, namely the prestigious Exceptional Service Medal and the coveted Astronaut’s Silver Snoopy Award.

A United States Air Force veteran of the Korean war, and during the “Cold War”, he was assigned to the Air Force base in Thule, Greenland.  It was there that he earned his membership into the “Knights of the Blue Nose”.

Mr. Griffin very much enjoyed the time he spent with his wife, family and friends, working on his computer, fishing and the company of his dogs, “Rowdy” and “Koda”.

Survivors include his beloved wife, Susan D. Witkowski Griffin, of Edgewater;  son, Russell W. Griffin (Beth), of Pittsburgh, PA;  daughter, Lisa D. Crabtree (Charlie), of Edgewater;  step-daughter, Jennifer S. Johnson, of Glen Arm, MD; 2 sisters, Sheila Tyler, of Glen Burnie, MD and Linda Diehl, of Ellabell, GA; brother, William “Bill” Griffin, of Ellabell, GA; 8 grandchildren, Brandon, Bryan, Alan, Joshua, Benjamin, Lucas, Nathaniel and Priscilla; and great-grandson, Tristin.  He was predeceased by his parents;  son, Warren Alan Griffin;  brothers, Bobby Ray Griffin, Sr.and James Olin Griffin; and sister, Jerilyn Sue Kelly. 

Committal service with military honors will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, November 22, 2019 at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, with Chaplain Andrew Pollock, officiating.

In lieu of flowers the family suggest memorials to Edgewater Animal Shelter, 605 Mango Tree Drive, Edgewater, FL 32132 or Halifax Health Hospice, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129.

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