Connie Jo Vandergriff

1952 - 2022

Connie Jo Vandergriff
April 18, 1952 - May 12, 2022
Kennewick, Washington - Connie Jo Vandergriff (Cook) passed away in love and light on May 12, 2022, on the ancestral lands of the Yakama Nation in Kennewick, WA. Born on April 18, 1952, Connie was a member of the Pinkham Shorthouse and a spiritual woman who believed in the power of love, connection, and positive energy. Connie battled Stage IV breast cancer and defied the odds for nearly 30 years before she was called home to the ethereal world to rejoin her ancestors and finally be free from pain. Born in Dayton, Washington, Connie was the oldest of four children and raised on a farm in Finley, WA. She lived most of her adult life in Kennewick after graduating from Central Washington University with a Bachelors Degree and then received a Masters Degree from Eastern Washington University in 1985. She served as a probation officer in Benton-Franklin County Juvenile Department for many years before becoming a mental health therapist. Connie was an innovative therapist who constantly sought out mentors, healers, and new techniques to help heal and strengthen the hearts of her clients and bring beauty into the world. She likely never knew the positive ripple affect her work had on the entire community.
In her free time, Connie loved to play golf, watch NBA games, travel, listen to live music and collect art. Connie had a confident and reassuring presence; an inexplicable ability to find hope and beauty in every challenge; an iron will; and a never-ending willingness to meet her clients in their darkest moments time and time again. She is deeply loved by those who know her, and she is missed beyond measure.
Connie is survived by her only child, Malena Fairlight Pinkham; her great-niece, Shauntel Brianna Ganuelas; her sister and brother-in-law, Maurine, and Fred Stultz; and multiple nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. She is preceded in death by her mother, Frances Marion Cook (Roe); her sister, Francis Cook; and her great-niece, Shaniah Showshowli Pinkham.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Hillcrest Funerals & Cremation, Kennewick, WA, on Saturday, June 4, 2022, from 2:00-5:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Benton-Franklin Humane Society.
To sign Connie's Tribute Page visit www.HillcrestFunerals.com