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Friends and family honoured beloved radio host Rich Griffin on Thursday, in an emotional but often humourous goodbye at Glad Tidings Tabernacle.
Griffin, 52, the KiSS 105.3 morning host, was put on life support over the weekend after suffering a brain aneurysm. He leaves behind his wife, Nancy, a public relations professor at Cambrian College, and their five-year-old daughter, Zoe. Griffin donated his organs to others, a gift that was referenced frequently Thursday.
Rev. Jeremy Mahood led the service, which was livestreamed on the All Nations Church website. Mahood invited viewers to text their thoughts and memories of Griffin while the service was going on, and promised the messages would be given to his family afterward.
"I would be remiss if I didn't say how much this event hurts,” Mahood said, adding that sometimes it's a "mystery why such events occur in our world.
"While we do not understand, in a way it's not our place to understand ... We know that at the end of the darkness there is (God's) light. And at the end of death, there is your life. And at the end of despair, there is hope."
Radio colleague and friend Angela Gemmill gave a Bible reading before musician and friend Sean Barrette gave a moving performance of James Taylor's 'Fire and Rain,' a song about trying to cope with sudden loss of a loved one.
Barrette played the song on a guitar belonging to Griffin.
His longtime radio co-host, Gary Beech, told stories about his time with Griffin: about his fussing over his hair; how he would often have Beech rolling on the floor in laughter at 5:30 a.m.
"The great thing about Rich, he was who he was on and off the air," Beech said. “That's what made him great. (It was) 14 of the best years a non-romantic partner could enjoy ... No one is guaranteed a full life, but we should take a cue from Rich and live every day fully.
"Griff, it's 8:27. Weather's next."
Griffin's wife, Nancy, came to the podium next, holding their daughter, Zoe.
"Lord please help me get through this," she said. "The strength of the Lord is the only reason I'm standing here today."
She played a recording of her husband's heartbeat shortly before he died, asking mourners to remember the sound and keep his memory alive.
"This is the sound of a heart that loved God,” she said. “This is the sound of a heart that loved me and Zoe, and that I loved beyond measure.
"Please remember this sound. Remember my best friend, and remember how much you loved him."
In his closing remarks, Mahood talked about how Griffin was kept on life support so that his heart, liver, lungs and other organs could be donated to those in need. A separate team of surgeons arrived to take each organ — eight in all — until finally he had nothing left to give.
"Someone somewhere woke up today ... with a little piece of Rich Griffin," Mahood said. "He was giving people a chance to live. (So) even in death, Rich lives."
The funeral was followed by burial at the Civic Cemetery in Sudbury, then his family welcomed mourners to an event at the Caruso Club.
Griffin had worked in broadcasting since 1987, and with Rogers Radio Group on KiSS 105.3 since 2001. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Rich Griffin Bursary Fund.
An organ donor, many speakers referenced Griffin's commitment to organ donation, and encouraged others to become donors themselves. To become an organ donor, visit beadonor.ca.
