Mary Catherine (Paschal) Griffin

Mary Catherine (Paschal) Griffin, age 92, unexpectedly passed away February 14, 2017 at Community Hospital. Born April 7, 1924, Mary Paschal was the youngest daughter in a family with 15 children. Throughout her life, she proudly spoke of growing up in Anderson’s Irondale neighborhood where neighbors were extended family and “everyone helped each other.” She attended the Irondale Church of God. She married in 1940 and would marry for a second time in 1959. At the age of 18 and the start of WWII, she went to work for General Motors. At GM she was among a select group of workers focused on a secret War effort to manufacture Derringer guns. For the remainder of her 30-plus years at Guide Lamp, she worked in Glass Unit. In 1975, she took “early” retirement and, thereafter, began a long life of reading, cake baking, babysitting her grandsons, caring for older family members, bicycle riding and walking. During the second half of life, she also discovered but refused to acknowledge that she possessed a number of artistic abilities, including still life painting. She was also an accomplished seamstress. She routinely read as many as six books a week and walked 4 to 8 miles per day until the age of 84. Her independent can-do attitude has served as inspiration to her daughters. Mary leaves behind three daughters, Margaret Osburn of Baltimore, MD, and Nancy (William) Bisping and Susan Griffin of Anderson; a grandson, Kyle Bisping; brother Francis Paschal; sister-in-law, Sarah (Joseph) Paschal; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Millie Jane (Huffman) and Charles Morton Paschal, and siblings James, Ida Marie, Agnes, George, Kenneth, LaVaughn, Margaret, Bailee, Alvin, Joseph, Meredith, Lois Jean, and Charles Jr., as well as her beloved friend Dorman Shrake. Private services were conducted February 16 in the chapel at Memorial Park Cemetery. Her nephew Timothy Paschal delivered the eulogy.