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FIT Center to be dedicated to Garth Griffin Former recreation director Garth Griffin’s funeral was a reminder of Island traditions.
The Shelter Island Board of Education Monday night unanimously approved a resolution requested by Councilman Jim Colligan and Kim Reilly, the chairwoman of the Recreation Committee, to dedicate the FIT Center for the late Garth Griffin who died on Jan. 27, 2020, just a week after his 67th birthday.
Mr. Griffin was hired as the town’s recreation director in May 1981 and held the post until his retirement in the summer of 2017.
“He loved this community,” Mr. Colligan said in making the request. “He was so proactive with the kids,” he said.
Garth Griffin died at home on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. He was 66 years old. Here is Julie Lane’s story from last January on his life and legacy.
It was mere hours after Garth Griffin’s untimely death that word reached many Islanders who were shocked that a man they had known and loved was gone.
He was hired as Shelter Island Recreation Director in May 1981 and held the post until his retirement in the summer of 2017.
Perhaps Jay Card Jr. captured it best at Mr. Griffin’s funeral Saturday afternoon saying, “I just didn’t know our days were numbered.”
Naming men who have made him a better man, Mr. Card noted several have already passed on. “I regret that I never had the presence of mind to thank them for their love and friendship when I had the chance . . . especially G,” he said. “I believe in my heart that he knows it now. Garth wove himself into this community like a bright red thread in a giant tapestry.”