JoAnn B. (Morrison) Griffin, (85) passed away Monday, March 18, 2024, as her body gave out after a life well-lived.  A 20-year cancer survivor (Lymphoma); as a result, she faced a worsening bone density problem and COPD for many years.  She bravely faced the painful mobility complications but ultimately succumbed to complications of a respiratory virus while at Ohio’s Hospice Lifecare.

She was born JoAnn Ball on August 1, 1938 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska to Ken and Viva (Kezar) Ball, and a few weeks after she was born, the family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she and her younger sister, Mary, grew up.

She graduated from high school in 1956 and attended Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois. In later years, she attended Wayne College in Orrville and then the University of Akron, where she graduated with a degree in accounting in June, 1987. She went on to take the CPA exam and officially became a CPA in October, 1988. At the time she was working for Turpin, Long & Wilson, a local CPA firm which became Long & Wilson, CPA’s, and currently is Dyer Roche & Company. She also loved her accounting work with Jim Jones at Gray Rock Transport. She retired in 2006, but not being ready to retire completely, went on to work part-time for Briggs Financial Group for several years, finally retiring for good in 2011.

She married Steve Griffin in 1996 and spent some of the happiest times of her life with him until her passing. She loved spending time with their expanded family of eight children and twelve grandchildren. She also loved to travel with Steve to Cape Cod, Mexico, Bermuda and especially to St. John in the Virgin Islands. Another of her happiest times was helping her children soon after the births of each of their children. She enjoyed gardening, reading, knitting, scrapbooking, card-making, playing bridge and collecting English Bone China, pitchers (especially crackle pitchers) and paper weights. She lived by her values of treating everyone with respect and by giving people the benefit of the doubt by not judging a person, because you have not walked in their shoes.  She was a strong supporter of women’s rights and equal justice for all, deploring the recent climate of incivility and hate that have so affected the country she loved.  She was a diehard Buckeye football fan and loved NCAA March Madness basketball.

It was important to her to serve her community in some capacity, which she did by serving on several boards of local non-profit organizations. The agencies she served included the boards of Wayne-Holmes Community Mental Health Center, the Wayne-Medina Community Action Commission (which included the Head Start program), the Learn n’ Play Child Care Center at the Wooster Community Center (helping in the establishment of the child care center) and the Viola Startzman Free Clinic.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her children Maryann Morrison of Plain City, OH; Mindy (Ted) Mannarino of Staten Island NY, Jody (Barron) Henley of Dublin, OH and Max Morrison II, of Wooster; step-children Jessica Griffin (Jon Francetic) of Paxton, MA; Scott (Angie) Griffin of Spencer, MA, Stephanie Griffin of Prescott, AZ and Daniel Griffin of Matthews, NC.  She is also survived by grandchildren Daniel Constantino of Staten Island, NY; Ariel Henley of Phoenix, AZ; Alexis and Rylee Henley of Dublin, OH; Chasidy Jones of Picayune, MI; Carter, Delaney, and Jack Ludy of Paxton, MA; Kenzo, Kaleo, and Silas Griffin of Spencer, MA; Rio and Paloma Griffin of Matthews, NC; her sister, Mary Bennett of St. Charles, IL, sister-in-law Nancy (Jim) Bergen of Montoursville, PA; and many cousins. She will be missed by all.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the Banquet Hall at Central Christian Church, 407 N. Market St., Wooster.  Family and friends will begin gathering after 10 am and the service will begin at 11:00 am with time following, for all to break bread and mingle afterwards for those who wish to do so.

Her ashes will be laid to rest in the Griffin ancestral plot in Harwich Port, Massachusetts in a private family service on Cape Cod this summer or fall.

McIntire, Bradham & Sleek Funeral Home, 216 E. Larwill St., Wooster is assisting the family.

The family is grateful for the constant care and loving support she, indeed, all of us received from Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, both in the home for three months and at the end in their beautiful on-site facility.  Their service was heartfelt and given with such kindness.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, 1900 Akron Rd. Wooster, OH 44691 or to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), 2525 Back Orrville Rd., Wooster, OH 44691 or to Every Woman’s House/One Eighty, Attn: Finance Dept., 104 Spink St., Wooster, OH 44691.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.mcintirebradhamsleek.com