Angel Griffin

Angel Griffin, 67, of Los Angeles, California, died on November 19, 2025, after living for two years with peritoneal cancer, having twice previously survived breast cancer.

She was born on July 2, 1958, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Samuel N. and Angeline M. Henrie. Angel graduated from Prescott High School in 1977 and earned a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from Scripps College in Claremont, California, where her keen intellect and voracious reading of books were already evident.

After college, Angel lived for a time in Germany and later in Los Angeles, Houston, and Philadelphia, holding a variety of jobs. In Philadelphia, she worked in an administrative position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, a setting that suited both her sharp mind and her interest in how people think and learn.

In 1994, Angel welcomed her son, Levi, whom she homeschooled through ninth grade, often turning everyday moments into lessons and thoughtful conversations. Watching him earn a PhD in mathematics from Vanderbilt University was her greatest pride, and she regarded his accomplishments as the finest achievement of her own life.

Although Angel grew up in an academic environment, she faced undiagnosed learning disabilities-dyslexia and impaired visual field perception-throughout her youth and college years. These challenges deepened her understanding of how people struggle and learn in different ways and helped shape her decision to pursue a master's degree in applied behavior analysis at Arizona State University, which she completed in 2018.

In recent years, Angel returned to creative writing and nearly finished a dystopian climate-fiction novel.

Angel was predeceased by her mother, Angeline M. Henrie. She is survived by her son, Levi Sledd, and his wife, Samiksha Sledd; her father, Samuel N. Henrie; her sister, Nyla Thomson; and her brothers, Samuel G. Henrie, James R. Henrie, and William Kelley Henrie.

A celebration of life will take place at the home of her father, Samuel N. Henrie, on Saturday, December 13, at 3:00 p.m. All who knew Angel are welcome to attend and share memories.