James Michael Griffin

James Michael Griffin was born in La Jolla, California, on October 8,1960. He was the eldest of four children. 
Mike began surfing at the Pier in La Jolla Shores at an early age. He was a natural soul surfer from the beginning. At 13, he started making surfboards. At 14, he made a 15-foot high wooden half-pipe in his parent's backyard.  
He never stopped shaping boards; however, he shaped them at his own pace. He was considered a shaper that crafted each unique surfboard as an image of himself. He rarely signed or put a logo on his boards. This lifestyle radiated his spiritual wholesomeness under the radar. 
For 34 years, Mike lived in his dream home that he built but never believed to be completely finished. Mike spent most of his time transforming a dilapidated structure in the back of his property into an artist compound. He had an indoor shaping room, an outdoor shaping plaza, a glass room, a storage shed for gardening tools, and a bus stop bench with a zinc roof for meditation in his vegetable garden. His dream home included a high-pitch ceiling, spacious meditation loft, three skylights, cedar wooded closets, hand-sanded wood floors, a waterfall shower, a large acute windows, a small minimalism well-lit kitchen, and a wave break awning perched over his front door. 
Mike was a peaceful man that attended the Self Realization Temple every Sunday. He was well-known in the community and respected as a soft-spoken artist with great integrity who cared dearly for friends and family.  Mike was a humble man that was blessed to live a life that terminated in a full circle; he manifested his spiritual light over his journey on land and while surfing.  
James Michael Griffin died on Monday, October 24, 2022, near the beach where he would surf. He is survived by his two brothers and sister. 
Funeral service for James Michael Griffin will be held at 12 noon December 3, 2022, at the Self Realization Temple, 3072 First Ave, San Diego, California, 92103. Paddle out ceremony will be held at 8:30 am December 4, 2022, at the PB Point. Friends may join the family.