Grieving Angel with Daddy Mini

I wanted to do a few creative photos and I remembered this statue in Metairie Cemetery...and I placed one of DGs minis in her hand....Scott

All,

Just a quick note: After the memorial celebration service for Dave Griffin aka Big Daddy – we went back to his house and ‘raided’ his golf bag…we each played with a Dave Griffin disc for the entire round…well some of us did…On the web site below are the photos…Please enjoy!

I have also uploaded some oldies but goodies including some shots form Boylan Farms, Smithsonian, and Burke lake etc…

Main Page: http://flickr.com/photos/scottshots1/

Big Daddy set: http://flickr.com/photos/scottshots1/sets/72157612234683479/

Please enjoy!!!

Thanks Daddy

My first memory of Big Daddy was at the Eastern Open at Bull Run Park in the early 1990's. I was probably 13 years old or so, and Ronnie had just gotten me started playing frisbee within the last year. I was so new that Moser out threw me in distance using a mini, just to humiliate me. A moment I remember to this day was Big Daddy doing a freestyle routine there with Jen to the song, "I Am The Walrus," while wearing a triangular hamburger hat. It was hilarious. At the beginning of the routine someone exclaimed, "Let's flip some burgers!" and they proceeded to flip over all of these frisbees pretending they were hamburgers. Man did that silly routine and fun-loving spirit really make an impression on me. I don't think I have ever done a normal freestyle routine since that moment, and probably wouldn't be dressing up as Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny at VA States 17 years later either if it weren't for their routine. Through the years Daddy always had a helpful hint or a reassuring word whenever I needed one, and he always did it with a big grin on his face. He just had a way of making things better. I will do my best to carry on that fun-loving, thoughtful spirit Daddy displayed so often. Thanks Daddy.

An Aussie Thanks

I met Dave through a mutual friend back in August 1997 while I was traveling. The frisbee family is a great thing and amazing how it can bring people together. Dave opened his heart and his home to me. I stayed at his house for a few days after never having met him before. Dave took time out to show me around Washington DC which was great. We played disc golf in a cool private park outside of DC, but one of my coolest memories was playing a pickup game of DDC with Dave right next to the Washington Monument on the Mall. We even were invited to participate in the Wham-O Frisbee Festival in front of thousands of people in front of the Capitol Building. I will never forget that time and the hospitality you showed a frisbee traveling kid from Australia.

Thanks mate for the memories, I will miss you.

Chris Himing
Australia

From the Family: David Lee Griffin, 1956-2009

Hello Everyone!

I would like to first thank everyone for their love and support during this difficult time. My family feels a true sense of peace listening to and hearing all of the stories that have been shared about Dad. This exchange has helped us cope with this incredible loss.

As some of you know, David Lee Griffin passed away on January 3, 2009, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas from complications due to leukemia. He bravely and courageously fought the cancer since September 2007, keeping his faith and positive outlook during several rounds of chemotherapy.

Dave was born on July 31, 1956, in Lorraine, Texas. He grew up in nearby Roscoe, Texas and graduated from Roscoe High School (he was a proud Roscoe Plowboy!). Dave then joined the United States Marine Corps and proudly served his country while stationed at the barracks at 8th and I, in Washington, D.C. as a member of the Silent Drill Team. While in the Marine Corps, he met his wife Cindi and they were married on May 18, 1978. After he completed his tour of duty, Dave and his family settled in Northern Virginia, where they lived for over 25 years. Dave held several jobs, but was primarily a Direct Sales/Account Representative for Media General Cable/Cox Communications in Northern Virginia.

Second to his family, playing Frisbee was the love of Dave’s life. He played in many tournaments and exhibition events around the country and also competed in world championships in United States, Canada, and Sweden. He held multiple titles and championships on national and state levels. Dave was not just a competitor, but was a true ambassador of the sport. He always made an effort to introduce kids to the sport of Frisbee (including his daughters), and encouraged everyone to participate in tournaments and other overall events. Thus he was popular in the Frisbee community, where he is affectionately known as “Big Daddy”. Dave also had a true love for music stemming back to the early 1980’s when he worked at WAVA Radio Station in Arlington, Virginia as their Music Research Director. This love for music is carried on through his children and God child, Mackenzie Grace.

Dave and his family later moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, where Dave became a franchise owner with Snap-On Tools. Dave worked extremely hard and kept all of his customers in Louisiana and southern Mississippi happy while running the competition out of town. He was a Top 100 dealer in the United States, and received numerous other awards from Snap-On for his achievements.

Dave leaves behind his wife, Cindi Frenger Griffin, and two daughters Jennifer (30) and Lauren (26), who will always have fond memories of him and of their time together as a family. He is also survived by his mother, Mrs. Charles (Anna) Griffin, a brother, Steve Griffin, a sister, Frances Griffin, and brothers Russell Stone, Robert Stone, and Mark Griffin. Dave was very proud of his family, especially his wife and two daughters who ran the Snap-On business while he was in the hospital.

Dave Griffin’s Celebration of Family and Life will be held at St. Timothy’s Methodist Church in Mandeville, LA on Saturday, January 17th 2009 at 11:00am. There will be a Pre-service and family visitation starting at 10:00am so that you may give your condolences to the family. There will also be a reception and lunch to follow the service.

A Memorial Fund/Foundation will be established in Dave’s honor to continue his legacy. Dave was a very generous and hard-working man who was always ready and willing to help his family and the community. He was extremely passionate about his work and connecting with others, to the point where friends, his Snap-On Team, and his customers became family. Dave will be deeply missed by all who knew him and whose lives he touched.

Thanks again for all of your support. We are looking forward to seeing you all in the next week. Your presence is truly appreciated.

Cindi, Jennifer, and Lauren Griffin
(504) 416-7985 or (805) 509-8742

St. Timothy’s Methodist Church
335 Asbury Drive
Mandeville, LA 70471
(985) 626-3307

Holiday Inn Suites
501 North Hwy 190
Covington, LA 70433
985) 893-3590

If you need hotel accommodations, we have reserved a block of rooms at The Holiday Inn in Covington, LA. Please mention that you are attending Dave Griffin’s Memorial Service for the discounted rate of $109 per night. The final day to secure this rate is Sunday January 11th. You may contact them via email at spears.holiday@gmail.com or call at (985) 893-3590. If you have any problems please contact us.

The Real Aspen Story!

Mike's story of Big Daddy at Aspen / Kiss the Sky does not go far enough. He may have been in that lead OPEN division group that only got to experience a little bit of the drama. I was in the MASTERS group (more fun AND we win sometimes) that got to live through one of the most amazing 3 golf holes I have ever witnessed.But as Mike did write, through it all, Big Daddy showed that it is just golf after all.Here it is in all it's glory:

Hole #10, a down hill shot to a basket perched right in front of a grove of trees. Too short and you are putting down hill towards the trees, too long and you are in the trees. Not too long a shot but hard to judge. Daddy throws something and it looks perfect. There is a large group of folks on the next tee box who all should be seeing his shot. Somehow, Big Daddy's disc hyzers out, gets up on that roll edge that hyzers often do, and threads it's way THROUGH this huge group and down, and down, and down, across the path of the next hole AFTER the next hole (#12 mentioned in Mike's story) and into a huge bowl. We ask, we search, finally finding it WAY down there. True to the professional golfer he is, Big Daddy hoofs it down there and plays it back up. Maybe an 8 on the hole if I recall correctly. And he was in contention prior to that!! And all that hiking up wore him out just a bit.

Hole #11, down a longish path that runs across a slope. Teeing off on a hill, too wide to the left and you are way up a rocky hill with a tricky shot to a basket perched at the end of the path. Too far to the right and you are off a huge drop off into trees. Many a disc that goes there is never seen again. Big Daddy is ready to get back in the game, he takes one of his cherished Aviars and drives it to . . .Grip lock and it is WAY out there to the right on a perfectly straight line to that never seen again place. I mean totally pulled. He goes to the convenient drop zone, takes another Aviar, and then somehow pulls it right again. Silence in the group. I think Dave said something to break the ice and try to put all the rest of us at ease. We felt so bad. Not as bad as Big Daddy I am sure. He ends up with another ridiculous score. An 11? Who knows.

Hole #12, here is where Mike's tale comes in. That severe drop and bowl to the left is where Big Daddy had been on his tee shot for #10!! So he is going back across the hill in the opposite direction from the recently completed #11. Basket is reachable and right under the gondola. Yes, he hyzered terribly. And not only did it hyzer (this is where the true story differs a bit from Mike's recollection, I think he merged two of the holes together) but this one also skipped and stood up and started to roll. It rolled down the tree line, which was WAY down there on the left, coming a bit back towards the tee but at the same time going away, and then took a little turn around a corner to that never to be seen again place. We declared it a lost disc, would anyone really make someone go and find it? He took another drive, finished the hole and true to Dave Griffin / Big Daddy's game at all times, he moved on.NO ONE, and I do mean not even the nastiest, crankiest, biggest pain in the butt golfer you have ever known, deserved all that. Certainly not Dave. But he always got a huge lift out of every telling of the tale. He is legend at Kiss the Sky. We'll return there this summer and tell the story once again.

Can't say what the loss of Big Daddy means to our sport in general. To me, it is a loss of someone who was always there with a great spirit for the game, who never gave up, and through it all kept that big smile on his face.

Harvey

Mike Randolph and Aspen

My favorite memory was on top of Aspen Mountain.
Hole 12 is about 400' across the mountain, with a severe drop to the left. I believe the run is a black diamond... Experts only. Well, Big Daddy being the expert he was musta thought that looked good, 'cause his drive hyzered early... And waaaayyyy down the hill.
He could have taken the old unplayable lie and re-teed, but that wouldn't do.
I have no idea how long it took him to hike down the 800' or so to his disc, and bomb it back up the mountain 'till finally holing out, but I do know he "conquered" the mountain that day!

Hi gamesmanship and spirit live on in the hearts of his children, but we'll have to wait awhile to play some disc with him again. I'm sure he'll be ready...

Michael Randolph,

Big Daddy Memorial on Facebook

To any of you who also use Facebook, I set up a group page called "Remembering Dave 'Big Daddy' Griffin" on my account.

You can search for me, Jack Cooksey, or the group, by name and that should get you there. When I have more time, I will migrate some of the remarks from FB to here and vice versa.