Crowe-Fields Funeral Home
Joseph Franklin Griffin, DMD, 63, of Millen, passed away Sunday, August 18, 2019, at his residence.
Following a private family burial in Millen Cemetery, a memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church of Statesboro at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 22. A celebration of life reception will be held immediately following the service in the Perry Fellowship Hall of the church.
Born March 19, 1956, and raised in Alamo, he was the son of the late Dorris Lee Griffin and Frances Chambers Griffin. Dr. Griffin was educated in Wheeler County Public Schools and was accepted after his junior year of high school to Middle Georgia College in Cochran. On his first day of college he met his future wife, Jan Rackley, of Millen. After graduating with honors from the two-year college, he attended the University of Georgia where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order Gamma Chapter where he was Number 3/secretary. Once again, he was accepted for early enrollment at the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry in Augusta. Joe and Jan married July 28, 1979, following his freshman year of dental school. He graduated with a degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1982. Upon graduation Dr. Griffin associated with his father-in-law, the late Dr. R. Hunter Rackley, in Millen. He later maintained a private practice in Statesboro until joining Southern Family Dental in 2015.
Dr. Griffin was a past president of the Georgia Academy of Dental Practice, the Eastern District Dental Society, and the MCG School of Dentistry Alumni Association. He served on the Executive Committee of the Georgia Dental Association, as Chairman of the Peer Review Committee for the Eastern District of Georgia, and as a member of the Pankey-Dawson Study Club. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Honorable Fellow designation from the Georgia Dental Association in 1991. He held continuous memberships in the Georgia Dental Association and the American Dental Association for 37 years. Dr. Griffin maintained an active teaching schedule in conjunction with the Georgia Dental Association's Expanded Functions for Dental Assistants program. He trained and certified more than 300 dental assistants in this role. Dr. Griffin's passion in his profession was not only the artistry of dentistry but in the patients he treated. He loved getting to know each patient that sat in his chair, and he was kind, gentle, and devoted to their care.
Dr. Griffin was a member of First Baptist Church of Statesboro where he was serving as an active deacon. He was a member of the Searchers Sunday School class. As a past member of Millen Baptist Church, he was a longtime Sunday School teacher for the BOCH and Cliff Morris classes and chairman of the deacon board. He lived his faith in the Lord.
In addition to his parents, Dr. Griffin was preceded in death by his brother, David Griffin. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Jan, and their daughters, Anna Herrington (John) of Waynesboro and Sarah Holley (Rob) of Evans. He was "Doc" to his four beloved grandchildren, Lilly and Ellis Herrington and Emeri and Eva Holley. His sister, Bettye G. Tankersley (Harry) of Statesboro, also survives.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church, 108 North Main Street, Statesboro, GA 30458 or Fostering Bulloch, 2505 Watering Hole Court, Statesboro, GA 30458.
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The Augusta Chronicle
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