Bob Griffith

1932 - 2015

GEORGETOWN - Dr. Bob Gene Griffith, an avid horse breeder and retired veterinarian, died peacefully at his Georgetown home on Feb. 14, surrounded by family. He was 83. Born in rural Scott Co. to parents Oakley and Sylvia (West) Griffith in 1932, he felt a deep and lifelong connection to Central Kentucky. He met his first wife Betty (Yancey) as a sophomore at Georgetown College, and was a devoted husband through 54 years of marriage, until her passing in 2007. After graduating from Georgetown College in 1954, he then went on to earn a doctorate of veterinary medicine at Ohio State University in 1958. He worked in both large and small animal practice for 9 years before relocating to the Washington D.C. area. From 1967 to 1992, he worked for the federal Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine in Rockville, Maryland, developing and reviewing veterinary drug trials. Upon retirement, he returned to Kentucky to pursue his lifelong passion for raising horses, continuing to the present a line of Standardbred racers founded by his father. He took special pride when one of them, Brave Leader, won the Kentucky Sires Stakes 2 year old colts division championship in 1977. An ardent and steadfast family man throughout his life, he is survived by wife Doris (Hawkins), sons Mark (Dianne) and Robert (Susan) Griffith; step children, Brooke, Notley and Holly; and five grandchildren: Keith, Adam, Owen, Victoria (Stephen) and Annie; and step grandchildren, Will and Ben. Services are planned for 1pm Tues at Georgetown Baptist Church. Burial will follow at the Georgetown Cemetery. In addition to his grandsons, casket bearers will be George Thomas Burgess, Danny Clemmons Sr, Danny Clemmons Jr, Larry Reynolds and Randall McDowell. Honorary bearers will be Hal Hewitt, Patrick Housh and Allton Boyd. Visitation will be 11am until service time on Tues at the church. Memorials may be made to the Betty Yancey Griffith Scholarship Fund, c/o Georgetown College, 400 East College Street, Georgetown, KY 40324.