Carmen Griffin Obituary

Carmen Ruth (Gerig) Griffin

Carmen Ruth Griffin (Gerig) passed away on October 15, 2025, in Watkinsville, GA, at the Presbyterian Village Skilled Nursing Facility where she had been living for the last 3.5 years. She was 96 years old when she passed away. Carmen was born on August 23, 1929, in Toledo, OH, to Ernest B. Gerig and Ruth E. Gerig (Lantz). She was predeceased by her parents; and her sister, Donna Belle Leonard (Gerig), formerly of Manitou Beach, MI.

Carmen was raised in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated from Libby High School in 1947, where she excelled in academics and sports as a gifted field hockey player. She also sang and performed as a member of the Glee Club.

After high school Carmen attended Miami University in Oxford, OH. She was the first person in her family to attend college. She graduated from Miami University with a BS degree in January, 1951. Carmen helped establish the Phi Beta Pi sorority chapter at Miami University as she was among the first pledges and pledge classes. In 1961 Carmen went back to college to get her teaching certificate from Eastern Michigan University. She would go on to earn her masters degree in education from Eastern Michigan University in 1983.

Carmen was married to Taylor Keith Griffin, of Manitou Beach, MI, from April 1951 until August 1964, when they divorced. Together they had two sons. Jay Scot Griffin, who resides in Claremont, CA, with his wife, Catherine Ann Griffin (Calderwood). They have 3 children, Kyle A. Griffin, Caitlin D. Griffin, and Dylan S. Griffin. Carmen's youngest son, Jeffrey K. Griffin, resides in Madison, GA, with his wife, Maureen Griffin (Ronan). They have two sons, M. Channing Griffin, and Patrick J. Griffin. Carmen was a favorite aunt of her numerous nieces and nephews during her life.

Carmen was a teacher in Sylvania, OH, for 35 years, where she taught various grades at Central Avenue Elementary School. She also tutored students on Saturdays and sold World Book Encyclopedias to parents throughout the district who wanted reference books in their home. She also started the evening adult education GED program that helped adults learn to read and to obtain their high school equivalency diploma. For the last 10 years as a teacher, she directed the Occupational Work Education (OWE) program at Sylvania Southview and Northview High Schools.

Carmen was a pioneer, champion, and advocate for teachers as an officer in her local Teachers Union for over 25 years, including being President and Vice President. She was a very skilled contract negotiator and consensus builder. During her tenure, teachers obtained paid health insurance benefits, increased pay, and changed work rules so that they could not be fired or required to quit because they were pregnant. She was a leader in helping women teachers break the male glass ceiling so that they could obtain positions as school counselors and administrators, and she helped establish the teachers credit union so that women teachers could obtain loans without a male co-signer.

Carmen retired from teaching in 1996. In 1999 she moved to Atlanta, GA, and later she moved to Madison, GA, to reside close to her son, Jeffrey Griffin, and his wife and family.

Carmen loved traveling during summer vacations in her small trailer with her sons and a set of World Book Encyclopedias to look up and learn the places they were visiting. During her life she visited 49 states (sans HI), 39 national parks, and 4 countries. Carmen also enjoyed genealogy and published two books that traced her Amish/Mennonite family history back to Switzerland and Alsace/Loraine, and her first ancestors that settled in PA in 1725, and later, in Ohio. Carmen was an avid Pinochle card player and enjoyed gardening.

In 1966, Carmen was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis), but her tenacious nature helped her persevere and continue to work and travel in spite of her MS. Carmen survived MS for 59 years and was one of the longest survivors of this debilitating disease.

Carmen was a member of her local Habitat for Humanity in Toledo, OH, and helped construct new homes and feed fellow volunteers. She also supported the Hefer project, providing farm animals to people in other countries so that they could feed themselves and earn a living. Carmen was a member of the United Church of Christ in Sylvania, OH. Carmen's ashes will be interred in the Smithville, OH, Amish/Mennonite cemetery where her ancestors are buried and to be near the family's ancestral farms that she so loved to visit.

Expressions of Sympathy and Remembrances can be expressed at Legacy.com. The family requests that donations be made in lieu of flowers to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Habitat For Humanity, or The Hefer Project.