Griffin, Robert E. (Father)

Jesuit Father Robert E. Griffin died Jan. 14, 2014, at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, Calif., at the age of 83.

Fr. Griffin was born in Omaha, Neb., on March 17, 1930, the son of Ray Griffin and Catherine Owens Griffin. The family moved to Pasadena, Calif., when Fr. Griffin was a teenager. After a period of time in the Naval Reserve, Fr. Griffin entered the Jesuits at Los Gatos on Aug. 14, 1948.

During his training, he received a degree in philosophy from Saint Louis University and taught physics at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix. He pursued theological studies at Alma College in Los Gatos and was ordained a priest in 1961. He pronounced final vows at Loyola High School in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1966.

On completion of his studies, he taught and held administrative positions at Loyola High School, Los Angeles, and Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Calif. He spent 1982 teaching in a secondary school in Tanzania. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1983, Fr. Griffin served in various Jesuit parishes and schools in California and Utah. He also served as chaplain to various communities of nuns and brothers. His last years were spent at Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, where he could be seen riding his bicycle or walking briskly with his trekking poles around the property.

Fr. Griffin is survived by a sister, Janice May of Maplehill, Kan.