Raymond "Ray" Griffin

Raymond Ray Gilbert Griffin, 70, of Lewistown, passed away Saturday, July 19, 2014 from a short battle with lung cancer at Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls.A memorial service with military honors to celebrate Rays life will be held Monday, July 28, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Park next to the Yogo Inn in Lewistown, Montana with a reception following at The American Legion Hall basement in Lewistown.Ray was born April 29, 1944 in Rock Hampton, Australia to Horace and Mary Griffin. He was raised, along with his brother Bill, in Bozeman, Montana and graduated from Bozeman High School in 1962. Ray entered the U.S. Navy in 1962 and served his country proudly for four years. In 1985, Ray attended the Butte Vocational Technical Center and received a welding certificate.In addition to his time in the U.S. Navy, Ray held numerous jobs throughout his life and was an extremely hard worker. He worked for Boeing in Seattle, Washington for 3 years and then worked at Berg Lumber, the Blue Range Mine and Allied Steel in Lewistown, where he finally retired from. He also worked as a gas pipe welder for Boylan Excavating in Belgrade, Montana.Of all of the jobs Ray held in his life, his time as a miner was what he was most proud of. He often spoke of working 3,000 feet underground and sometimes over 5,000 feet underground in the mines. He had many mining stories he shared throughout the years. He worked for 10 years in mines, 7 years in Butte at the Stewart, Mountain Consolidated, and Kelly mines and 3 years at the Blue Range Mine in Lewistown.On January 25, 1971, Ray married the love of his life, Kathleen Aho in Butte, Montana. They were soul mates, meant to be together, and the perfect match. They had two sons, James and Scott Griffin. The Griffin family spent many years in Butte and in 1987 they relocated to Lewistown.Throughout his life, Ray enjoyed spending time with his family, fishing, finding bargains at garage sales and visiting with friends. He loved telling stories about his days in the mines and he loved hearing stories others had to tell.Ray is survived by his sons, James Griffin of Lewistown and Scott Griffin of Sunburst; granddaughters September Brown of Billings, Emily and Isabelle Griffin both of Sunburst; great-granddaughters Priseis and Cienna Gardner of Billings; brother Bill Griffin of Troutdale, Oregon; and numerous aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.Ray was preceded in death by his parents, Horace and Mary Griffin; and his wife of 39 years, Kathleen Griffin.Condolences may be posted online at www.schniderfuneralhome.com.