Carol Ann Friedley Griffith

1941 - 2022

Griffith

Carol Ann Friedley Griffith

Carol Ann Friedley Griffith died on October 29, 2022, at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. The cause was respiratory failure due to complications of COVID-19.

Carol was born in Delhi, NY in 1941, the first child of the Rev. Charles R. and Dorothy Friedley. She was valedictorian of her senior class at Deposit High School and graduated from Houghton College in 1962 with a BA in English. At age 21, Carol had her parents drop her off with her luggage at the YWCA in downtown Washington, DC, a city where she knew no one and had no job prospects. Washington and all its cultural offerings must have seemed like a wonderland to this small-town minister's daughter. Eventually her sisters, Ginny and Kathie, joined her to live in DC as well.

Carol joined the staff of the magazine Christianity Today, where she served as editor for many years, leaving eventually to join the Center for Ethics and Public Policy. In 1968 she married James E. Griffith. They settled in the Chevy Chase section of DC, with a weekend house in Shady Side, MD. Living in the city suited Carol well; she was devoted to the arts and often attended 3 and 4 cultural events in a week in both Washington and New York City, where she traveled frequently. At home she surrounded herself with books, art, and music, taking great care to arrange the details of her life artfully. An accomplished pianist, she took lessons all her life, and she was active in the music program at her church, the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church.

Upon retirement, Carol and Jim moved to Five Star Senior Living in Chevy Chase, MD. After Jim died in 2018, Carol continued to lead a full and independent life until the onset of health problems in October 2021. But, while the last year of her life was challenging, she remained cheerful and optimistic until the end, spending her days immersed in the beloved books that had been her constant companions throughout her life.

During the pandemic Carol, Ginny, and Kathie started meeting at Point of Rocks, MD, to sit by the Potomac River in the sun. Carol didn't want a funeral or memorial service, and we are planning a family outing in spring to scatter her ashes and celebrate her life. She is survived by her sisters, Ginny Weinstock and Kathie Friedley, brother-in-law Robert Weinstock, nieces Sara and Andrea, and nephew Jake.