Martin Griffith
Jan. 10, 1939 – October 25, 2026
Martin Spencer Griffith, our beloved husband and father, known to family and friends as “Marty,” died Oct. 25, 2026, in Salem.
Marty was in a memory care facility and died too soon, with multiple complications. He was 87 years old.
Marty was born Jan. 10, 1939, in Albany to Spencer Oran Griffith and Dorothy Alena (Rohrbough) Griffith. He grew up on the family farm in Tangent and attended school at McFarland Grade School and Albany High School.
He attended one year at Oregon State University, then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He served most of his military career as a radio/electrician technician at stations in France.
Upon his return to the U.S., Marty started work in Las Vegas as a telephone service man with the Bell System. There he met and married his wife, Pamela (Penny) Ann Nelsen in 1965. They started their family: sons Dennis Martin Griffith, John Jason Griffith and Christopher Ryan Griffith, and daughter Malissa Lacy Ann Giering.
Marty was a dedicated, work-oriented man, which he learned from his farming background. He moved his family across the country, working for the phone company at the following locations for the next 37 years: Green Bay, Wis,, Pendleton, John Day, Salem and Redmond, where he retired as manager.
In 2002, Marty lost his wife of 37 years, Penny, to cancer. A year later, he met and married his second wife, Gayle Diane Jones Tow. Gayle had lost her husband that same year.
He and Gayle moved to Sweet Home, where they spent the next 23 years together in their home along the Calapooia River. Marty enjoyed gardening, making apple cider, feeding the hummingbirds, deer, and turkeys, and going on several road trips and cruises. His favorite trips were the cruise through the Panama Canal, and his stay on Catalina Island off California.
Marty is survived by his children, listed above; grandchildren Brittany, Sierra, Allison, Olivia, Isaiah and Jeremiah (Miah), and great-grandson Landon.
Along the way, Marty’s other endeavors were to provide for his family and friends as their needs were made known. He was a most generous and loving man, donating his blood to every Red Cross blood drive, until his doctor told him to stop at 85 years.
He built a log home in John Day for his family, enjoyed all manner of “fix it” work at home. He built a small cabin on the riverside property at Sweet Home, and many family and friends came to enjoy the fruits of his garden and the lovely native river trail along the river.
A service for Marty will be held at a later date. Arrangements are being made at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service in Salem.
Family and friends who knew Marty Griffith will remember him in love, and for his generosity to others, and his ability to share his humor and stories with a smile and joy of life.
Marty was a Christian, a kind man of faith. He will be missed.
Paid Obituary