Sylvia GRIFFIN

GRIFFIN, Sylvia Smith CHARLOTTESVILLE Sylvia Smith Griffin, 82, died Sunday, April 2, 2017, surrounded by loved ones. She was born November 3, 1934, in Meridian, Mississippi, to Otho R. Smith and Emily Krouse Smith. Sylvia graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1956, with a double major in English and history and minors in religion and education. Sylvia was a vivacious spirit whose insatiable desire for learning and joie de vivre inspired everyone in her wide circle of friends and family. She took every advantage to learn and experience life as a world traveler, voracious researcher, avid gardener, and student of life. Over her lifetime, Sylvia was deeply involved in a variety of ministries at First Presbyterian and the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. She served as a longtime docent at the Atlanta History Center as well as Membership Chair of the Atlanta English-Speaking Union. She also did volunteer work for Trees Atlanta and Monticello in Charlottesville. Sylvia translated her extensive travel to Great Britain into an interactive lecture program and in-depth travel consultation to both travel agents and individual travelers. She was considered the South's leading Anglophile for many decades. Preceding her in death, in addition to her parents, was her daughter Emily Rachel Griffin Rushton. Sylvia is survived her daughter Laura Griffin Farrell of Charlottesville and her brother Tim Smith of Mobile, Alabama as well as son-in-law Kirby Farrell, of Charlottesville; son-in-law Richard Rushton and daughter-in-law Jody Rushton, of Atlanta; as well as six grandchildren: James Rushton, William Ruston, and Jonathan Rushton, all of Atlanta; and Jackie Farrell, of Brooklyn, Griffin Farrell and Anna Rose Farrell, both of Charlottesville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, Georgia, or the Poplar Forest Parkway's Capital Campaign in Forest, Virginia. Sylvia's family would like to thank Dr. James Boyer, the wonderful people at Hospice of the Piedmont, and her loving caregiver and family friend, Musu George. "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/ Her infinite variety." William Shakespeare.