Rinda Biffle Griffin

Rinda Biffle Griffin was born on August 18, 1961 and departed this life on February 6, 2021 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 59 years old. Rinda was the daughter of Harold and Dena (Elkins) Biffle. She grew up in Velma and graduated from Velma-Alma Schools in 1979. In 1980 she married Johnny Griffin and moved to Waurika. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in June of last year. Rinda and Johnny have two children, Jorinda and Gil.

She was preceded in death by her father and is survived by her husband, Johnny, her mother-in-law, June Griffin; her children Jorinda and Gil and his wife, Halie all of Waurika. Also, her mother, Dena, of Duncan and two sisters, Francie, and brother-in-law, Mike Prater, of Duncan; Dona and brother-in-law, Roger, Lowery of Loco; and one brother, Turner, and sister-in-law, Joann, of Velma. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Jimmy Griffin and his wife, Carla, of Duncan as well as many nieces, nephews and great nieces and great nephews. Rinda loved her family with all her heart.

Rinda lived life to the fullest and loved anything to do with the outdoors. She was happiest working on the ranch, walking for five or more miles each day, fishing, gardening and planting wildflowers. She was a fierce advocate for helping children and served on the Board of Directors of the Waurika Public School Foundation since its beginning in 2003 and served on the Board of Directors for the Waurika Public Library for 15 years; serving until 2018. She was Board President for 8 years.

Rinda was a community advocate and worked tirelessly on many local projects. She was a lifetime member of the Methodist Church and worked on every committee for the First United Methodist Church in Waurika where she chaired the Finance Committee for several terms, taught Sunday School when her children were in elementary and high school, sponsored youth trips and served as camp counselor for several summer camps. She and Johnny enjoyed serving as Youth Directors for five years.

She was a 33-year member of the GFWC-OK Waurika Sorosis Club serving two terms as president. She also served for six years as the Community Improvement Award Chairman for GFWC Oklahoma and was currently serving her second two-year term as Vice President of the South Central District. She was Co-Chair of the Waurika Wildflower Project which was awarded the best Conservation Project for GFWC Oklahoma in 2019 and won GFWC International recognition in the same category. She was also on the Sorosis Park Committee and helped with the current renovation project.

She was a member of the Lions Club and a Past Club President. She was a member of the Waurika Chamber of Commerce and worked on the Shop Local project in 2019 as well as volunteering for many other community projects. She served on the Waurika Athletic Booster Club for many years serving several years as Club President. She may have grown up as a V-A Comet, but loved watching Waurika Eagle Sports and watching Jorinda run track and play softball and watching Gil play football and baseball.

She was the community liaison with the Oklahoma Blood Institute for many, many years helping them set-up and promote blood drives in Waurika. She was a licensed insurance agent and worked first for The Insurance Place and later for Bartling Insurance in Waurika. Rinda never met a stranger and loved meeting people. She was a trailblazer for Women in Agriculture when she was one of the first female FFA members for the Velma-Alma organization. Her father was the FFA instructor for Velma-Alma Schools for many, many years and he instilled in her a deep love for agriculture, land conservation and raising livestock. One of her fond memories of her days in Velma was serving as the Velma Rodeo Queen at the age of 14. After graduation she attended both Cameron University and Oklahoma State University and was a life-long Oklahoma State Cowboys football fan.

The family suggests that, if you wish to make a donation in her memory, you send it to the First United Methodist Church, PO Box 67, Waurika, OK 73573 or the Waurika Public School Foundation, PO Box 14, Waurika, OK 73753. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.