Helen Dushanek Griggs

Helen D. Griggs, 80, of Oklahoma City, OK and longtime summer resident of Acton, Maine, died July 4, 2004 at the Canterbury Nursing Home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.She was born January 13, 1924 in the town of Garwood, New Jersey a daughter of John and Alice (Barry) Dushanek. Helen graduated from Springfield Regional High School in Westfield, NJ in 1941. She was a student at Trenton State Teachers College from 1941 until January 1945 when she received her BA degree in English and History. She met her future husband, Richard C. Griggs, at Trenton State Teachers College and they were married on March 31, 1945.From January to June in 1945, Helen taught at the Roselle Park Elementary School in New Jersey. Then, in the fall of 1956 to June of 1983, Mrs. Griggs taught at Princeton Country Day School in Princeton, NJ, the Barstow School in Kansas City, and retired from a long and adventurous teaching career at the Pike School in Andover, MA.Helen was a gentle, compassionate person who enjoyed doing volunteer work at Princeton Medical Center in Princeton, the Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, MA and Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, Ok.Mrs. Griggs was a frequent and very able bridge player with several groups of lady friends. She also had a great "green thumb." Her flower garden in Maine was a thing of beauty each summer. Also, the crop produced by her tomato plants provided adequate supply for several neighbors in Maine.Survivors include her husband of 59 years, Richard C. Griggs of Oklahoma City, her son, Robert C. Griggs and her daughter-in-law, Donna M. Griggs, of Parker, CO and her son, J. Jeffrey Griggs of Las Vegas, NV. Also, 3 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, July 10, 2004 at 11:00 am at the Acton Congregational Church with Rev. Dewey Peterson, officiating. Burial will follow at Oakdale Cemetery in Sanford.