Mark James Griffin

Despite his best efforts to suffer the burden of cancer alone, Mark James Griffin was surrounded entirely by love and support, good humor, and his children to the end when he peacefully passed away in his home on the evening of November 25th, 2024. 

Mark was the son of an avid fisherman, born in Berkeley, California on October 23rd, 1955, to an angel mother, Rhean Harker Griffin and his father, Keith Merl Griffin. The beauty of the Bay Area and his own thoughtful, reflective nature inspired a deep love of the natural world, and from a young age he was often out in it, caring for the small and living things—a trait he would carry with him all his life. 

After spending most of his formative years in California, he was called to serve an LDS mission in Seville, Spain, at the age of 21. During this time, his spiritual devotion deepened, and his admiration of the Spanish people and of the people he served with became another strong pillar of his life—shared often among friends and family and in his church leadership and service. On his return to the States, he enrolled at Brigham Young University, where his love of writing and literature was put to good use as he earned his B.A. in English and Spanish before continuing to receive a Juris Doctorate from J. Reuben Clark Law School, BYU. 

Though his legal career working for state agencies, the private sector, and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel took him all over the country and into the U.S. Capitol, where he conducted Senior White House Staff briefings and testified five times before U.S. Congressional Committees, his heart was always in the work of his hands at home. With his college sweetheart, Stephanie Green, he raised five children who delighted in watching him build and fix things—tile fireplaces, wooden doors, college essays, bird wings, oil paintings, and sometimes their own broken hearts. He will live on in their memories of the Oregon Coast, Spanish paella, fly-fishing, movie nights, road trips, Bay Area dance moves, secret ingredients, late-night soda runs, and spiritual insights. 

Mark is preceded in death by his father, Keith Griffin. He is survived by his mother, Rhean Harker Griffin Olson. His brother, Greg (Susan) Griffin; his sisters, Kati Griffin and Jenny (Marlon) Borup; his daughters, Lindsay Griffin and Emma (Bryant) Hinckley; his sons, Joel (Katie) Griffin, Stewart (Koltyr) Griffin and Daniel (Nastasha Hardy) Griffin; his grandchildren; as well as many loving in-laws, cousins, and beloved nieces and nephews. He is also survived in the memory of all the creatures he cared for, rescued, and nursed back to health along the way—the chickens, his grand pups, a mouse, a flammulated owl, robins, a baby magpie, a sparrow, a house finch, quail, a parakeet, and a hummingbird. 

A service will be held Friday, December 6th, at noon in the LDS Chapel at 2925 East Bengal Boulevard, E 7800 S, Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with a viewing at the same location Thursday evening from 6-8 p.m. Mark will be laid to rest at Memorial Mountain View Cemetery, 3115 South Bengal Blvd—Cottonwood Heights, Utah following the funeral service on Friday, December 6th. 

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to be made on his behalf to the 4th Annual Homeless Outreach Christmas Project, where Mark spent a favorite Christmas administering to the needs of the community’s most vulnerable members. 

Venmo: @kathy-richards-17 https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=Kathy-Richards-17