Margaret Elizabeth Griffin Mongold

Published 6:15 pm Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Margaret Elizabeth Griffin Mongold, Age 93, of Pell City, AL, passed away September 12, 2012. She was born January 3, 1919 to Tom Fleet Griffin and Florida Watson Griffin in Pell City, a town she loved and where she lived most of her life. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Solomon Andrew Mongold, brother, Tom Fleet Griffin, Jr., (Martha Willingham Griffin), nephew, Joseph Lee Griffin and great niece, Martha Claire Griffin Dix.

She graduated from Lincoln High School, attended the University of Alabama, and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Home Economics Education in 1942. She attended the University of Alabama in Birmingham to become qualified in Library Science. Many of Mrs. Mongold’s happiest memories were from teaching at Lincoln High School, Avondale Mills and Duran. She retired after 35 years of service. In 1982 at the request of Dr. McClendon she became chairman of the St. Clair County Library Board.

She was an active member of the community. She saw a need for a children’s program to provide instruction in the arts. She asked friends for help and founded the Pell City Bridge Builders with Curtis Capps and Emma Milam to give back to the children of Pell City what Pell City had given her. She was a member of the Pell City First United Methodist Church and Regent of the Broken Arrow Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She loved to draw, paint, needlepoint, play bridge, garden, French hand sew, smock, make preserves and bake the very best rolls. She studied watercolors with Wayne Spradley, oils with John Loneigen, and sculpture with Daryle Fellows and other Birmingham Museum Guest Artists. In 1977 she and Vicki Smith opened Art Craft House on First Avenue North. That same year she was asked to be the Grand Marshall of the Christmas Parade.

Her survivors are her niece, Louise Pritchard Griffin (Lee); her nephews, Tom Fleet Griffin, III (Paula), Michael Willingham Griffin, and Lynn Watson Griffin (Angie); great nieces and nephews, Annie Griffin Shaw, Elizabeth Griffin Owen (Scott), Louise Hinton Griffin, Joseph Lee Griffin, Jr., Thomas Pritchard Griffin, Mary Allison Griffin, Sarah Elizabeth Griffin, Clayton Banks Griffin and six great great nieces and nephews. Her last four years were in Birmingham at St. Martins in the Pines in the care of their loving staff. A funeral service was held Saturday, September 15 at 11:00 a.m. the family received friends at 10:00 a.m. at Usrey Funeral Home in Pell City, Alabama. In lieu of flowers the family request donations to the Pell City First United Methodist Church, 2300 3rd Ave N, Pell City, AL 35125.