Stanley Richard Griffin, 63, of New Hampton, NH, passed away quietly on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at home.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa Griffin, of New Hampton, daughter Emma Griffin, sons; Trevor Griffin and his wife Michelle Griffin, of New Hampton, Jesse Griffin and his wife Katie Griffin, of Winchester and their 3 sons, Justan, Rowan, and Kieran; Joseph Teeter and his wife Leah Teeter of South Carolina, and their daughter Savannah and son Caden, Clint Griffin, and his sons Dylan and Logan and daughter Megan of Northfield, Chance Griffin of Laconia, daughter Sariah Griffin and partner Evan Goodale of Swanzey, and a step-daughter, Amber Perry of Belmont. He is also survived by his mother, Florence (Stinson) Griffin, sister Sharon Nadeau and husband Danny Nadeau of Sanbornton; Uncle George Stinson and wife Cheryl Stinson of Penacook, cousins Christopher, Corissa, Jeremy, Andrea and Aunt Diane Stinson of South Carolina, and cousins Ross, Craig and Dominick. Stanley is predeceased by his father Leon "Junior" E. Griffin Jr. and brother Leon E. Griffin, III.
Stanley grew up spending half the year in Sanbornton and the other half in Franklin. Stanley’s parents moved them to Franklin, to rent an apartment in the winter, because their Sanbornton house didn’t have any real heat source. This made school and friendships hard for him to maintain and drove Stanley for the rest of his life. Regardless of his early hardships, Stanley always had a positive outlook and adversity only gave him a buckle down and get it done attitude. When his father was often away, he was the one who helped his mother keep things going. He learned at an early age, if something needed to be done, he better do it and complaining about only made the job take longer. Stanley also learned that sometimes it was necessary to sacrifice in order for others to be satisfied. Stanley liked to see others happy.
As a young adult, Stanley was an extremely hard worker and an excellent provider. He could do the work of 3 men and work for twice as many hours. He was the proud owner of Franklin Iron Works Health Spa, a small gym in Franklin, on Main Street, next to the Opera House from 1982-1984, while he was working second shift at Webster Valve. He worked for Capitol Fire Protection (Loudon) as a fire suppression system sprinkler fitter from 1986-1992 before going back to work for Webster Valve. During this time, he was a driving force in his parent's firewood and logging business; Griffin Logging and Firewood Sales from 1978-1988. In addition, he had his own tree company called A to Z Tree. He was still employed at Webster Valve at the time of his death.
Stanley loved stories. He treated strangers as if they were friends that he hadn’t gotten to know yet and long-time friends were family. When he met someone new, whether it was waiting in the doctor’s office or at the DMV, Stanley would start conversations. He would find out where someone was from, or where they grew up. If he went anywhere with any frequency, he would get to know all the people who worked there. He loved to listen to people tell their stories, and unlike most, he listened and remembered. You could not stand next to Stanley for any length of time without him engaging in conversation with you. Some people were initially put off by the personal nature of Stanley’s questions, but ultimately his personality and sincere interest won out. He made connections with people and they valued him. For Stanley, connections with people, quite often, never ended. Even after someone passed, he would continue to visit them and care for their graves. Stanley never expected anything from anyone in return.
Stanley liked to help and see people happy. He would help out friends and complete strangers in any way he could, even at the cost of his own comfort and happiness. Often he would do tree work just to help someone out. If someone was haying a field; he’d be right over. He once cut down an entire lot of hemlock, to have them milled, to donate to a neighbor to rebuild his house after a fire. He truly enjoyed helping people and making them happy. He took great pride in his work and if he could do something to help someone, he was first to be there and last to quit. Though it was apparent sometimes Stanley was sacrificing, he hardly ever let it show. Instead, he chose to smile and encourage others to keep their heads high. "Everything is going to be OK", is a statement commonly used by Stanley. At the end of each day, all that mattered were family and friends.
There are not enough words to describe how hard-working, smart, loving, caring, and family/friend-oriented he was. Stanley may not be with us physically, but he will always exist in the minds of all the people he met, not only in spirit but in deep memory. Memories of advice when someone reached out to him and needed guidance. Memories of adventures every time he brought his children and friends out. It was never simply a hike or swim with Stanley. It was an educational, enlightening adventure. Stanley loved to take walks with family and friends. He enjoyed nature and animals. There is hardly a way to erase this man's smile from memory because that's all he wanted to show the world. He always tried his hardest to find the good in everyone and everything because he was a man that could always see past the ugly and find the beauty.
The family would like to thank Bruce Harvey for being a good neighbor these last 10 years and especially for his help in bringing Stanley safely home.
Services will be held on Saturday, February 19, 2022, at the St. Andre Bessette Parish - Sacred Heart Church, 291 Union Avenue, Laconia, NH. Calling Hours will be held from 12:00pm-1:00pm, followed by a Time of Sharing from 1:00pm-1:30pm. A Liturgy of the Word Celebration will begin promptly at 1:30 pm.
The family encourages all friends and co-workers to join them at a reception at the Belknap Mill Society, 25 Beacon St, Laconia, NH, immediately following the service. We would be very pleased to have you share your stories with us in remembrance of Stanley.
Burial will be in the Spring.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246 is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.