September 30, 1956 - January 24, 2023
The Homegoing services celebrating and honoring the life of Steven Sylvester Griffith, 66, of Enid, will be held 2:00 P.M. Saturday February 4, 2023 in the First Missionary Baptist Church with Reverend Wilbur Flynn officiating. Burial will be held with the presentation of Military honors 2:00 P.M. Monday February 6, 2023 in the Ft. Sill National Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
Steven Sylvester Griffith was born in Pompano Beach, Florida on September 30, 1956, the third of six children raised by Sylvester Reuel Griffith and Rosetta Thurston Griffith. He passed from this life on January 24, 2023 in Ashland, Ohio.
Raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York, Steven attended John Jay High School, graduating with the class of 1974. He attended Bronx Community College for two years, from which he received his associate’s degree.
sa big brother, there was none better. He was the son entrusted to taking his younger sister on the subway for her piano lesson, and who taught her how to play checkers. And he was ever the responsible son, dispatching household chores and minding his younger siblings without complaint.
As a youngster in Brooklyn, Steven could be found playing “stickball”(think baseball, but with a broom handle for a bat) with the other kids who lived on the block, dodging passing cars as he rounded the bases for home in the city streets. He shared with his siblings his love of the New York Knicks (although he switched allegiance to the Oklahoma City Thunder when he moved out west) and old Elvis Presley movies.
In high school, Steven joined the track team and nurtured a lifelong passion for running – and for fitness generally – that he pursued until the end of his life. A natural athlete, he even competed on his high school track team at the renowned Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track meet in the United States.
Steven enlisted in the United States Air Force on February 23, 1977, and served his country honorably for 20 years, with tours of duty the included the Philippines, South Korea and Colorado. While stationed in the Philippines, Steven married Elizabeth Jade in 1982. He retired with the rank of SSGT at Vance Air Force Base in 1997.
After retiring from military service, he remained in Enid and found employment working for 12 years as a railroad conductor.
Voluntarism was a big part of his life. At his church, he was the go-to guy, with a ladder at the ready and a paintbrush in his hand, eager to help out with whatever handyman-type projects needed doing.
Elderly neighbors or church members who needed help navigating their computer – paying bills or even just logging on – knew they could always count on Steve to stop by and lend a hand.
Not a day went by when Steven wasn’t helping mow a neighbor’s grass or driving them around town. He volunteered preparing taxes for other service members and supporting fellow veterans in any way that he could.
He had a variety of other physical activities that kept him busy -- and trim -- from coaching youth sports, to working out at the gym. Steven was renowned for his pre-dawn jog and rigorous workout session at the gym on the base.
But as much as he took care of his physical body, he also tended his soul: A devout Christian, Steven was an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the First Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as deacon.
His love of dogs -- beginning with his first dog, Prince, as a boy in Brooklyn, was legendary. He owned a succession of canines over the years, each one precious to him in a different way.
He taught his two adoptive sons the life skills they would need to get by in life, and doted on his daughter, whom he adored. To his grandkids, he was Papa Steve, and they loved hanging out at his home summers and playing in his yard.
He was also a devoted son to his mom back home in Brooklyn, whom he visited whenever he could and they traveled together on cruises, domestically and internationally. He had created for himself a full and happy life and was loved by many people for his charm, easygoing nature and sociability.
He contracted Covid in the late spring of 2021, and died more than a year and a half later from complications related to that illness.
Steven is survived by his beloved mother, Rosetta Branch, of Brooklyn, New York; three siblings, Stephanie Griffith of Silver Spring, Maryland;, Vivian Griffith, of Lauderhill, Florida and Stanley Griffith of Brooklyn, New York; a stepdaughter Breana Stampley and two stepsons, Korie Stampley and Brandon Stampley. He is also survived by his former spouse and friend, Elizabeth Griffith, and by numerous nieces, nephews and beloved friends. Steven was preceded in death by his father Sylvester Griffith and two sisters: Cheryl Griffith, and Sandra Sanchez.
The family would like to thank everyone for their kindness and support during this difficult time.
Condolences may be made to the family online at www.Brown-Cummings.com. As one of Oklahomaʼs oldest single family owned and operated providers of funerals and cremations, Brown-Cummings is the name families have turned to for generations. They fully understand the honor and responsibility entrusted to them to preserve the story of oneʼs life. Visit 400 W. Maple, Enid, OK 73701. Call: (580) 237-5432.
Obituaries are posted, in part, due to the generosity of The Commons.
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