Stella Merle Griffith

Stella Merle Griffith, 95, of Lumberton, was promoted to be with the Lord on Sunday, November 10, 2024.  She was born on June 3, 1929, in Chireno to Estelle Bonnie Harrell Wallace and Willie Wallace.  After high school graduation, she moved to Port Neches to live with her brother and sister-in-law and work at a local jewelry store.  She met Warren (the love of her life) at First Baptist Church of Nederland and sat with him in the choir while HE sang.  She said there wasn’t much attraction at first, but she liked his build – a nice-looking fellow and a very neat dresser!   They married on May 14, 1949.  While Warren worked at Goodrich Gulf, she was a happy homemaker caring for their home and the three daughters they raised in Nederland.   She enjoyed sewing clothes for her girls – and receiving compliments on it! —as well as crocheting various decorations for the house.  A fine cook, she enjoyed swapping recipes with her family and friends, and learned to make a great Cajun gumbo.  She had a real talent for keeping plants flourishing, both indoors and out in the yard. She also loved shopping for bargains, always looking stylish and elegant in her finds.

 For many years she served as a Sunday School teacher for toddlers at FBC-Nederland.  Later she began a 21-year career as the beloved daycare worker “Griffy” at the church’s Child Development Center.  Widowed in 2006, she continued to live in Nederland and began a weekly habit of going out with her other widow friends, who her son-in-law Ray nicknamed “the posse,” to DQ for ice cream treats. In 2019 she moved to Lumberton to live with her daughter Bridget.  There she worshipped at Crestwood Baptist Church, making new friends there and in her new neighborhood.

Survivors include her daughters, Darlene Griffith Haycraft and her husband, Tom, of College Station; and Bridget Laminack of Lumberton; grandchild, Chris Haycraft and his wife, Carol, of Houston; great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Luke and David Haycraft; and Ray Laminack IV; and sister, Willie Faye Hammock of Nacogdoches.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Warren Griffith; daughter, Charlene Griffith; son in-law, Ray Laminack Jr.; grandson, Ray Laminack III; and brothers, Harold “Honey” Wallace; and Clifford “Dunk” Wallace.

A gathering of Mrs. Griffith’s family and friends will begin at 11:00 a.m., with her funeral service at 1:00 p.m., Friday November 15, 2024, at Crestwood Baptist Church, 1150 US-69, Kountze.  A private interment to follow at Oak Bluff Memorial Park, Port Neches.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”