Dennis Victor Griffin

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Griffin, Dennis Victor died on July 3, 2019 at Woodbury Healthcare Center, Woodbury, Minnesota. Dennis was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Victor and Leona (Rusch) Griffin on June 19, 1933. He graduated from Lincoln High School, Manitowoc; St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota; and Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul; with advanced study at the Universities of Minnesota and Illinois, and New College, Edinburgh University, Scotland. He was honored to receive St. Olaf's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1984. In 1957 he married Louise Benson in Minneapolis. In 1959, Dennis was ordained into the Lutheran ministry at First Lutheran Church, Manitowoc, having completed his seminary education, including an internship year at Grace Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C. His first pastoral call was to Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, 1959. His ministry continued as he served as Senior Pastor at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Urbana, Illinois; Christ Lutheran Church, Palatine, Illinois; and First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Before returning to pastoral ministry in 1998 to serve as Interim Senior Pastor at Central in Minneapolis, Dennis served as Vice President at St. Olaf College; Capital University, Columbus, Ohio; and Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Over the years, he chaired the American Lutheran Church Board for College & University Services; the National Lutheran Campus Ministry Board, and served as representative to the Lutheran Council USA. A lifelong athlete, Dennis enjoyed golf, baseball, and football. Leisure time focused on books, fishing, and gardening. Louise shared his love of travel, and they made a point of traveling to all 50 states. Together they organized travel groups to the UK; the Middle East with emphasis on Palestine and Israel; Australia and New Zealand. Dennis is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Diane Griffin Keyser. He is survived by his wife, Louise, his sons, Mark (Donna) Griffin and Thomas (Anne Marie) Griffin; grandchildren Sarah, Victor, Abigail, and Sam Griffin; brothers James (Karen) Griffin, David (Laura) Griffin, and Michael (Terry) Griffin; sisters Anne (Allen) Link and Sarah (Michael) Willman; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Services at 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 13, at Central Lutheran Church (333 S 12th St, Minneapolis) with luncheon to follow; Visitation at 10:00 AM at the church. The family suggests memorials to the Luther Seminary Griffin Endowed Scholarship, the St. Olaf College Dennis & Louise Griffin Endowed Scholarship, or the Central Lutheran Church Foundation. O'Halloran & Murphy 651-702-0301 ohalloranmurphy.com

Published on July 7, 2019