June 21, 2021, 86, Goldsboro –
Shirley Gray Myers Garris Griffin, 86, passed away Monday, June 21, 2021 at Kitty Askins Hospice Center, surrounded by her family. She was born December 17, 1934 in Wayne County, North Carolina. She was one of four children of Raymond Haywood Myers and Effie Jane Raynor Myers and step-mother Madeline Raynor Myers. She attended school in Kenansville, North Carolina through the eighth grade, and then moved to Goldsboro where she graduated from Goldsboro High School. Shirley married her high school sweetheart, Bobby Gerald Garris. Bobby’s employment with Big Star Foods led them to live in many North Carolina cities, including Goldsboro, Jacksonville, Greensboro, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Durham, Fayetteville and Swansboro.
In addition to being a homemaker and mother of four children, Shirley was a Mary Kay Cosmetic Senior Director for sixteen years. She was recognized for her outstanding sales and team building skills by earning a Mary Kay Pink Cadillac, the first awarded in North Carolina.
Following Bobby’s death September 2, 1994, Shirley married her long-time friend and neighbor, Dr. Ashton T. Griffin, III in 1998. Shirley and Ashton traveled to England for ten years and studied at the Kellogg College in Oxford, England. Shirley loved to travel and she and Ashton enjoyed many trips together which included many cruises & riverboat cruises in Europe and the Caribbean.
She leaves behind her loving husband, Ashton and six children, Bobby Gerald Garris, Jr. of New Bern, NC; Timothy Allen Garris (Daffie) of Asheboro, NC; Debra Garris Horner (Eric) of Nashville, TN; and Vernon Scott Garris (Maggie) of Kill Devil Hills, NC; Margaret Griffin Bailey (Scott) of Virginia Beach, VA.; Ashton T. Griffin, IV (Paula) of Spartanburg, SC and special daughters Judy Whitfield of Goldsboro and Tammi Scarbrough of Paducah, KY. Shirley also leaves behind her sister, Carol Koonce of Trenton, NC, brother, Dwight Myers of Swansboro, NC, and her Griffin siblings, Erline Burwell Eason, Richmond, VA Beverly Floyd Griffin, Virginia Beach, VA; and Patrick Craven Griffin (Jane) of Washington, NC. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Raymond and Effie Myers, stepmother, Madeline Myers and sister, Grace Barwick. Shirley is survived by twenty-one grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at Garris Chapel United Methodist Church, 823 Piney Grove Road, La Grange, NC followed by a celebration of Shirley’s life at 11:00 a.m. in the church sanctuary with Reverend Adam Brinkley officiating. Interment will be at 2:00 p.m. at the Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Goldsboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Kitty Askins Hospice Center, 107 Handley Park Court, Goldsboro, NC 27534 or Garris Chapel United Methodist Church, 823 Piney Grove Road, La Grange, NC 28551.
Arrangements by Seymour Funeral Home & Cremation Service. Online condolences may be sent to www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
