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Cornelius F. Griffin
Cornelius Francis “Neal” Griffin died peacefully at home in the Outer Banks of NC, surrounded by his loving family while they were live streaming Mass, on Thursday, January 18th, 2024.
Neal was born in Tenafly, NJ in March of 1939. He was the oldest of three children born to Cornelius and Annie “Nancy” Griffin. Neal was a graduate of Tenafly High School, where he earned several medals and accolades in Track and Field. He went on to graduate from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ and served in the United States Army upon graduation. He and Margo Arrants were married on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, 1962. They went on to have six children together, whom he was most proud of and loved spending time with.
He had a distinguished career in finance, obtaining both his CPA and MBA. He served as a volunteer executive in the NYC Chapter of the Financial Executives Institute. His career culminated in the acquisition of Richton Intl., where he held the position of CFO, retiring in 2002.
Neal was an avid sailor and loved taking his family out on the Long Island Sound where they lived in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. He and Margo enjoyed traveling and spending time with their Gourmet Group in both Chatham and Morristown, where they later lived with their family and made countless friends. Neal was a competitive tennis player and golfer. He enjoyed all aspects of golf, but especially playing with his boys. His ideal day was spent reading a Tom Clancy novel on the beach, and enjoying a cocktail as the sun set with family and grandchildren playing nearby.
He was predeceased by his father, Cornelius Francis Griffin and mother, Annie Griffin.
Neal leaves behind his beloved wife of 62 years, Margo Griffin, their six children, Kelleen Griffin, Stephen (Joanna) Griffin of Chesapeake, VA,, Jennifer (Jeff) Luisi of Ledgewood, NJ, Neal (Beth) Griffin of Bernardsville, NJ, Matthew Griffin of Keene, NH, Meghan (Chris) Fay of Collegeville, PA, and thirteen grandchildren, whom he adored, Mackenzie and Caroline Griffin, Jessica and Brian Luisi, Timothy, Patrick, and Sean Griffin, Jonathan, Zachary, Caleb and Micah Griffin, their mother Kendra Griffin and Max and Luke Fay. His brother Albert (Carol) Griffin of Tenafly, NJ and sister, Mary Sailer of Westwood, NJ, along with several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday January 27th at 11:00am at St. John The Apostle in Virginia Beach, VA with a repass to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
Lewy Body Dementia Assoc.
912 Killian Hill Rd. S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047
lbda@lbda.org
Please share an expression of comfort with the family at www.gallopfuneralservices.com. Gallop Funeral Services, Inc. was entrusted with arrangements.
Condolences
It is with a heavy heart I give my condolences to the family. You are in my prayers to Ms Margo thanks for sharing him with me for the short time. Love you all! Melanie
"When I worked on Wall Street.... " he would say before going into details about his finance background. "Marg, we are going to be late...." he would say before packing up the car heading to NJ to see his kids and grandkids. "JADE!!!!" he would yell when she would steal a cheese and cracker off of his plate while we all sipped wine. "Where's Brian?" he would ask anytime B stepped out of the room. "Thank you" he would say everytime he finished a meal we cooked or as he left visiting with us. Neal, was a kind man. He was genuinely interested in anything I shared with him. He provided insight and suggestions for my business. He was so very gracious, but it was the way he said "thank you" that will always stick with me. The most genuine "thank you" I have ever heard. I am grateful to know this family who became our friends unexpectedly. 💫❤️🩹 Neal will be missed by us and many others. Brian and Crystal
Dear Margo and family, My lasting memories of Neal are way too many. His smile, his laugh are just a few. I will never forget our trip to Africa. To think he didn’t want to go there. I think he had the best time of all. He was a very religious man. I admired that in him. Love, Karen K
We are so sorry for your loss. We are so glad that he was able to spend his last days in his own home with loved ones near him.
Rest in peace cousin Neal. My condolences to the family
Please know your family is in our prayers at this most difficult time. Joe and I will forever remember Neal’s kindness, generosity, and broad smile! With Our Deepest Sympathy! Blessings! Joe and Jeanne
Dearest Margo, may you find comfort in the memories and all that you shared over the years. I know you will lean into your faith and friends and feel God's love during these times. Blessings, Elaine
We have fond memories of being with Neal and Margo together in Maui in 2014 when Dave and Neal qualified the same year at TRCC for the Mercedes Championship and then playing as a team in the tournament. Our thoughts and prayers go to Margo and the rest of Neal's family.
We are so sad to hear of the loss of your dear Neil. You are all in our prayers.
Dear Margo and family. We are so very sorry to hear of Neil’s passing. He was a wonderful friend and neighbor here in Governors land and we will miss his delightful laugh and twinkle in his eye when telling a story. Love, Joan and Walt Miler
Margo and Family. Please accept our deepest sympathy in the passing of your dear husband, Neal. Neal, you and your family are in my prayers. 🕊️🦋Carol and Ron Carkner
Margo, We were so very sorry to learn of Neal's death. We enjoyed spending time with both of you here in Governor's Land. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Fondly, Betty Angelo
Dearest Margo Words cannot express how we feel all we have now is the memories and what wonderful times we had together remembering when we were in Greece our Friday night coffees and pizza Manny will miss speaking to Neil we send you all our love and our prayers Manny and Patty
There is no Words, can. express how we feel All we have now are the memories of the Friday night coffee and pizza and the bus trip that Mandy had with Neil to New York and remembering our trip to Greece, which was the most enjoyable trip that we’ve ever had. There are no words that expresses our sorrow.
We are so sorry to hear of Neal's passing. We remember the many good times we enjoyed together.
Dear Margo and your beautiful family, We are so sorry to hear of your loss. The love you all shared makes the world a better place. We pray that love and your faith continues to carry you . Peace , Dick and Jane Butterfield
Margo, Cliff and I send our heartfelt sympathy to you and your family. Our times together were such fun and we are grateful we crossed paths with you two. Neil was a wonderful man. Cherish those beautiful memories. Fondly, Stephanie and Cliff
Margot so sorry to hear of Neal's passing. I'll always remember fondly the engaging conversations over Christmas Eve dinners at Linda & Ed's.
Dear Margo and Your Wonderful Family, we are so sorry for the loss of your loving husband. It seems like yesterday that I was in your wedding party and looking up at the altar and seeing Neal’s smiling face. He was one happy man! God has blessed you all with a husband/father that loved you and was so proud of the people you became. We send our deepest sympathies for your loss. Love, Lorraine and Frank
Matt and family, we are all so very sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts.
Our deepest condolences go out to the Griffin Family and Friends. Had some great golf outings with Neal and always enjoyed his intelligent and amusing conversations. God bless, All.
We are so sorry to hear of Neal’s passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to Margo and the entire extended family. We’re chasing grandkids in St Petersburg but will hold his memorial service up in prayers for comfort in this time of loss and for the assurance of his eternal care with God. Blessings ~
Such a great person loved helping with him always so gracious and grateful he will be missed by all that knew him.
Margo and family it was my pleasure to help with him he was always so grateful and kind my condolences to all love joyce
Hi Aunt Margo and the entire Griffin family. I wanted to express my sympathy over the passing of Uncle Neil. He was very special to all of us, and he will be sorely missed. I always looked up to him as a role model, especially with respect to his business acumen, and especially with regard to the importance he always placed on family. It’s funny thinking back to holidays with the entire family and the political debates that took place, I always thought Uncle Neil’s politics were maybe a little bit too far right. But I turned 50 this year and as I’m thinking about it, I’m willing to bet that if we were the same age at the same time, we would’ve seen eye to eye on almost everything. I thought that was funny now that I’m reminiscing and putting things in that perspective. About 25 years ago. I was applying to law school and my mother must’ve mentioned it to her brother. The next thing I know, Uncle Neil gives me a call and asks me where I was applying. I told him the place that I wanted to go most was Fordham Law. He said I’ll call you right back and hung up the phone. Less than 5 minutes later, he called me back, and he had arranged a meeting for me the next day with a good friend of his (the General counsel from Richton I believe). I met with this person for about 20 minutes and he told me what a great friend Uncle Neil was to him and how much he trusted and respected him. Next thing I know the meeting is over and he says I should give the admissions office a call tomorrow. I did just that and sure enough, I had been admitted on the spot. I ended up meeting my wife at Fordham, and we have a wonderful family now, so to say that Uncle Neil did me a big favor is quite an understatement. I really owe him a great debt of gratitude for looking out for me in that way and I’ll forever be grateful for that small (but big) act of kindness. In fact, I wish I had reiterated how grateful I was to him while he was still with us. Anyway, I’m glad you’re all together and I wish I could’ve been there. Hopefully we get to see each other soon. The heartfelt sympathies and prayers of all the Sailers are with you.
Our deepest condolences to the Griffin family and to you Margo. We will miss Neal very much and our good times we had with both of you. We will always remember our river cruise in Europe and our stay together at the B&B in Amsterdam. Also our visits with you both in Aruba. Our time together at OBX was always a pleasure. We can still do that with you Margo at OBX and Williamsburg. Milt & Mary Ann Berube
It is with a heavy heart I give my condolences to the family. You are in my prayers to Ms Margo thanks for sharing him with me for the short time. Love you all! Melanie
“When I worked on Wall Street…. ” he would say before going into details about his finance background.
“Marg, we are going to be late….” he would say before packing up the car heading to NJ to see his kids and grandkids.
“JADE!!!!” he would yell when she would steal a cheese and cracker off of his plate while we all sipped wine.
“Where’s Brian?” he would ask anytime B stepped out of the room.
“Thank you” he would say everytime he finished a meal we cooked or as he left visiting with us.
Neal, was a kind man. He was genuinely interested in anything I shared with him. He provided insight and suggestions for my business. He was so very gracious, but it was the way he said “thank you” that will always stick with me. The most genuine “thank you” I have ever heard. I am grateful to know this family who became our friends unexpectedly. 💫❤️🩹
Neal will be missed by us and many others.
Brian and Crystal
Dear Margo and family,
My lasting memories of Neal are way too many. His smile, his laugh are just a few. I will never forget our trip to Africa. To think he didn’t want to go there. I think he had the best time of all. He was a very religious man. I admired that in him.
Love,
Karen K
We are so sorry for your loss. We are so glad that he was able to spend his last days in his own home with loved ones near him.
Rest in peace cousin Neal.
My condolences to the family
Please know your family is in our prayers at this most difficult time. Joe and I will forever remember Neal’s kindness, generosity, and broad smile! With Our Deepest Sympathy! Blessings! Joe and Jeanne
Dearest Margo, may you find comfort in the memories and all that you shared over the years. I know you will lean into your faith and friends and feel God’s love during these times. Blessings, Elaine
We have fond memories of being with Neal and Margo together in Maui in 2014 when Dave and Neal qualified the same year at TRCC for the Mercedes Championship and then playing as a team in the tournament. Our thoughts and prayers go to Margo and the rest of Neal’s family.
We are so sad to hear of the loss of your dear Neil. You are all in our prayers.
Dear Margo and family. We are so very sorry to hear of Neil’s passing. He was a wonderful friend and neighbor here in Governors land and we will miss his delightful laugh and twinkle in his eye when telling a story. Love, Joan and Walt Miler
Margo and Family.
Please accept our deepest sympathy in the passing of your dear husband, Neal.
Neal, you and your family are in my prayers.
🕊️🦋Carol and Ron Carkner
Margo,
We were so very sorry to learn of Neal’s death. We enjoyed spending time with both of you here in Governor’s Land. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Fondly,
Betty Angelo
Dearest Margo
Words cannot express how we feel all we have now is the memories and what wonderful times we had together remembering when we were in Greece our Friday night coffees and pizza Manny will miss speaking to Neil we send you all our love and our prayers Manny and Patty
There is no Words, can. express how we feel All we have now are the memories of the Friday night coffee and pizza and the bus trip that Mandy had with Neil to New York and remembering our trip to Greece, which was the most enjoyable trip that we’ve ever had. There are no words that expresses our sorrow.
We are so sorry to hear of Neal’s passing. We remember the many good times we enjoyed together.
Dear Margo and your beautiful family,
We are so sorry to hear of your loss. The love you all shared makes the world a better place. We pray that love and your faith continues to carry you .
Peace , Dick and Jane Butterfield
Margo,
Cliff and I send our heartfelt sympathy to you and your family. Our times together were such fun and we are grateful we crossed paths with you two. Neil was a wonderful man. Cherish those beautiful memories. Fondly, Stephanie and Cliff
Margot so sorry to hear of Neal’s passing. I’ll always remember fondly the engaging conversations over Christmas Eve dinners at Linda & Ed’s.
Dear Margo and Your Wonderful Family, we are so sorry for the loss of your loving husband. It seems like yesterday that I was in your wedding party and looking up at the altar and seeing Neal’s smiling face. He was one happy man! God has blessed you all with a husband/father that loved you and was so proud of the people you became. We send our deepest sympathies for your loss.
Love, Lorraine and Frank
Matt and family, we are all so very sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts.
Our deepest condolences go out to the Griffin Family and Friends. Had some great golf outings with Neal and always enjoyed his intelligent and amusing conversations. God bless, All.
We are so sorry to hear of Neal’s passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to Margo and the entire extended family. We’re chasing grandkids in St Petersburg but will hold his memorial service up in prayers for comfort in this time of loss and for the assurance of his eternal care with God. Blessings ~
Such a great person loved helping with him always so gracious and grateful he will be missed by all that knew him.
Margo and family it was my pleasure to help with him he was always so grateful and kind my condolences to all love joyce
Hi Aunt Margo and the entire Griffin family. I wanted to express my sympathy over the passing of Uncle Neil. He was very special to all of us, and he will be sorely missed. I always looked up to him as a role model, especially with respect to his business acumen, and especially with regard to the importance he always placed on family.
It’s funny thinking back to holidays with the entire family and the political debates that took place, I always thought Uncle Neil’s politics were maybe a little bit too far right. But I turned 50 this year and as I’m thinking about it, I’m willing to bet that if we were the same age at the same time, we would’ve seen eye to eye on almost everything. I thought that was funny now that I’m reminiscing and putting things in that perspective.
About 25 years ago. I was applying to law school and my mother must’ve mentioned it to her brother. The next thing I know, Uncle Neil gives me a call and asks me where I was applying. I told him the place that I wanted to go most was Fordham Law. He said I’ll call you right back and hung up the phone. Less than 5 minutes later, he called me back, and he had arranged a meeting for me the next day with a good friend of his (the General counsel from Richton I believe). I met with this person for about 20 minutes and he told me what a great friend Uncle Neil was to him and how much he trusted and respected him. Next thing I know the meeting is over and he says I should give the admissions office a call tomorrow. I did just that and sure enough, I had been admitted on the spot. I ended up meeting my wife at Fordham, and we have a wonderful family now, so to say that Uncle Neil did me a big favor is quite an understatement. I really owe him a great debt of gratitude for looking out for me in that way and I’ll forever be grateful for that small (but big) act of kindness. In fact, I wish I had reiterated how grateful I was to him while he was still with us.
Anyway, I’m glad you’re all together and I wish I could’ve been there. Hopefully we get to see each other soon. The heartfelt sympathies and prayers of all the Sailers are with you.
Our deepest condolences to the Griffin family and to you Margo. We will miss Neal very much and our good times we had with both of you. We will always remember our river cruise in Europe and our stay together at the B&B in Amsterdam. Also our visits with you both in Aruba. Our time together at OBX was always a pleasure. We can still do that with you Margo at OBX and Williamsburg.
Milt & Mary Ann Berube