Obituary of Mary Josephine Griffith

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Mary Josephine (Josie) Griffith (nee Sullivan).  Josie was born on 25 January 1921 in Kouchibouguac, New Brunswick and died on 23 July, 2018 in Surrey British Columbia at the age of 97.  Predeceased by her husband Arthur Caldwell (Joe) Griffith and her son-in law Dennis. She leaves behind three children - Patrick (Madeleine), Geraldine, Susan (Grant), as well as three grandchildren - Ian (Erica), Griff (Stephanie) and Emily (Jason), and six great grandchildren – Owen, Dylan, William, Lily, Oliver and Daniella She also leaves behind a step-grand daughter Jennifer who has been a great support to her and the family in British Columbia, and many nieces and nephews.The daughter of John and Mary Sullivan (nee Grant), in a family of nine children, Josie grew up in Cochrane, Ontario, where she met her husband Joe. She and her sisters worked in the wartime factories in Toronto during WWII, while their fiancées/husbands went overseas in uniform.  The Sullivan children and their spouses settled in the Niagara Region after the war bringing their parents down from Cochrane to join them. Josie travelled widely, wherever Joe's jobs in heavy construction took them over the next forty years, always returning to the Niagara Region and to the house they had built in St Catharines after the war. She continued to live in St Catharines after Joe’s death until she moved to Vancouver in 2001 to be near her daughter Geraldine, who has been a tower of strength and of loving care for her during her later years.  For the past few years she has received exemplary care from the staff at Suncreek Village in Surrey, BC and the family is grateful for their kindness.Josie read widely, played bridge aggressively, followed politics closely, and above all cared deeply about her faith and her family.   She will be missed by all of us.  If she touched your life and you want to remember her, do a kind deed in her memory.Josie will be buried in St Catharines, Ontario, alongside her beloved husband and near her parents.  A celebration of life will take place later with the extended family in the Niagara Region.