John Howard Griffin papers, 1920-2004

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Series XX. Posthumous Papers

John Howard Griffin left his home the afternoon of July 21, 1980. He was checked into Medical Plaza Hospital by his long-time physician, Dr. E. Ross Kyger. Griffin lived another fifty days, expiring of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 9, 1980. He was less than three months into his sixtieth year. The funeral was held on September 11, and Griffin was buried at the Mansfield Cemetery, Mansfield, Texas, next to the grave of his old friend, Clyde Parker Holland (father of Griffin's widow, Elizabeth). He was survived by his wife, four children, his mother, brother, and two sisters.. Griffin's funeral was attended by hundreds of friends, family members, and devoted acquaintances. The Mass was written by Father Tom McKillop--a moving ceremony that included many of Griffin's words read and anecdotes remembered. Friends travelled from all over the United States and Canada to attend. A fuller version of that day is detailed in Fr.McKillop's text, in many news features and obituaries



Box 36 Folder 861 Tom McKillop Funeral Mass of John Howard Griffin, [Mansfield, TX], [Sept. 1980], 8 page t.ms. (photocopy


Box 36 Folder 862 WAY magazine Special Edition devoted to John Howard Griffin, San Francisco, CA,, September 1981, 64 pages

[Includes articles by Robert Ellsberg, Irving Sussman, Joe Noonan, and Cornelia Jessey


Box 36 Folder 863 Daniel, Bradford "The Intrinsic Other: The Life and Work of John Howard Griffin." Outline for a film documentary, [n.p.],, 1980, 5 page t.ms.


Box 36 Folder 863 Daniel, Bradford To Elizabeth Griffin, [n.p.], 14 October 1980, 1 page a.l.s.


Box 36 Folder 864 Miller, Keith D. "Courageous Witness" Fellowship: Nyack, NY, March 1981, 4 page photocopy


Box 36 Folder 865 Ellsberg, Robert Article on John Howard Griffin in Cloud of Witness and Sojourners, [n.p.], 1981 & 1991, 12 page photocopy


Box 36 Folder 866 Sharp, Ernest "The Man Who Changed His Skin" American Heritage, 1989, 14 page photocopy


Box 36 Folder 867 The First Annual John Howard Griffin Festival of the Arts I, St. Joseph's College, Toronto,, 28 October 1983, 5 program and flyers

[The first festival was organized by Father Tom McKillop and sponsored by the Youth Corps of Toronto; performers included actors Michael Kramer and Jimmy Pappas, performing a scene fromScattered Shadows; musical performances by pianist Luiz de Moura Castro, Clarinetist Bridget de Moura Castro, and sopranos Caudettte LeBlanc; plus readings of Griffin's work by Elizabeth Griffin and Robert Bonazzi


Box 36 Folder 868 John Howard Griffin Festival of the Arts. Second and Third, Fort Worth, TX,, 1984 & 1985, 2 programs, 1 invitation


Box 36 Folder 869 Pilgrimage, Latitudes Press: Mansfield, TX,, 1985, 12 page booklet

[Commemorative edition of theThird Annual John Howard Griffin Festival. Limited edition, 500 copies.


Box 36 Folder 870 Certificates of death, Fort Worth, 1980, 2 page photocopies

[On one of his last days in the hospital, John Howard Griffin said to father McKillop: "It's so hard to be reduced to nothing! All of I have left now is the pure silence of love." And that was everything.