Sylvie Redmond Griffiths' Obituary
SYLVIE REDMOND GRIFFITHS Born in New York City on June 3rd 1916, she died on September 6, 2006, having recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday surrounded by family and friends. Civic leader and world traveler, she was married to the late William Griffiths PHD., Emeritus Professor of Public Health at UC, Berkeley; mother of Clare MacKenzie of Austin, TX (deceased), Kathy Farley of Minneapolis, MN, Roland R. Griffiths PHD. of Baltimore, MD, and Mark Griffiths ofVancouver, BC .Although from a highly-educated and prominent New York family, she was the first female member to obtain a college degree. She received her BA fromBenningtonCollege and later her MA in psychology from the UC, Berkeley. Her Master’s dissertaion explored the role of hesitation phenomena in the development of children’s language.She took active leadership roles in numerous state and local organizations: including serving terms as president of the Richmond League of Women Voters, the Richmond YWCA, the Bay Area YWCAs and The Faculty Wives’ Section Club at UC Berkeley. She also served as a member of the State League of Women Voters and the Contra Costa Grand Jury (1960-61).Sylvie traveled extensively with her husand, Bill, in conjunction with his work in health education and population planning to many third-world countries. They continued exploring the world after his retirement, maintaining friendships in cities all over the globe.A voracious reader, especially about current political and social events, she juggled a diverse range of interests, relying on her phenomenal memory to shape and share her worldview with those around her. For thirty-five years she led a Great Decisions discussion group in theEastBay . More recently, she has written a series of short memoirs that recounted significant incidents in her life; many of which included famous people, including J.D. Rockerfeller II, Dorothy Day, B.F. Skinner and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (her mother’s first cousin). Among her other writing, she sent yearly Christmas poems to hundreds of family and friends encapsulating her observations about the year past.She always showed a keen interest in whatever her family and friends were accomplishing and loved learning what new things were being tried and discovered in the world around her. Every field of endeavor — whether medical, scientific, political, financial, academic or entertainment — captivated her imagination. She evinced great pride in her family and was always quick to encourage her four children and nine grandchildren on their quests both personal and professional. Her influence will continue to live on long after her passing as she had a lasting and productive impact on those who knew her.
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