Ideal Helms Griffin, age 91, died Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at her Camden home.
She was born in Jarvisburg, NC on September 10, 1928 to Eva Morrisette and George Helms. She was delivered by her maternal grandmother, the local midwife who lived across the field. She was the third child, with older brothers George and Jack, and later joined by sister Ann, all now deceased. Until she graduated from Poplar Branch High School, she did not roam far from the southern end of Currituck County. Her first post-high-school job, in the billing department of Sears & Roebuck, took her to Norfolk, VA. On a blind date arranged by her flat mate, she met her husband of sixty-four years, Onwood “Red” Griffin. His job with the Norfolk & Southern Railroad brought them to Camden, NC, in 1955, where they lived until their deaths. They raised a daughter, Deborah (Michael) who lives in DeLand, FL, and a son, David (Tami) who resides in Camden.
Once the two children were well along in public school, Ideal continued her education, first at the College of the Albemarle, and then graduating with an elementary-education degree from ECSU. She was a first-grade teacher at Grandy Elementary for more than twenty years, synchronizing her retirement with husband Onwood’s. With a schedule of their own devising, they became early morning mall walkers, six days per week making laps, a pastime they continued into their eighties. They also took square-dance lessons, and were active members of the local Tarheel Squares, with Ideal sewing most of her dancing outfits. Sunday mornings would find them in their pew at Sawyer’s Creek Baptist Church, where Ideal was a long-time teacher of her Fidelis Class and member of the WMU. She was an avid reader, a habit begun as a child, until macular degeneration dimmed her eyesight, and particularly favored mystery stories. After she could no longer read, the Camden librarians kept her supplied with audio books. She and Onwood were never far from the other’s side, and thoroughly enjoyed a decade of RV-camping throughout North America, their longest trip being a one-hundred-day loop through the southwest, up the Pacific Coast into the Canadian Rockies, and back home.
And then there are Ideal’s grandchildren, Wendy (Ben), Abbie (T.L.), and Joshua. Each grandchild had her/his own bedtime song that Ideal would “sing” (she would never have been a church-choir member) when they overnighted with their granny. During the grandkids’ time as Camden High School athletes, she was a regular in the bleachers. One of the pluses of a long life is grandchildren having their own children. Even when dementia flattened Ideal’s perception and participation, she would sport a smile when the four great grands came to visit. She was an ideal daughter, loving wife, devoted mother, and could have gone on forever as granny and great granny.
The family extends a very special thanks to all of Ideal’s caregivers, especially Mrs. Gloria for her years of dedication and companionship. A private service for family and friends will be held at Sawyer’s Creek Baptist Church, with the Rev. Kevin Buzzard officiating. The family will receive friends at David Griffin’s home, 200 Belcross Road, in Camden, NC. Memorial donations may be made to the Music Fund of Sawyer’s Creek Baptist Church, 241 Sawyer’s Creek Road, Camden NC 27921. Twiford Funeral Home, 405 East Church Street, Elizabeth City, NC is assisting the Griffin family. Online memorial condolences may be sent to the family at www.TwifordFH.com.