Ted Griffiths will be missed
Although Ted will be remembered by many for his involvement in the real estate business, it is in the field of chess, magic shows, puppeteering and aeronautics that he will best be remembered.
Many members of the Ermelo community were saddened to learn of the death of one of Ermelo’s stalwarts, family man and much loved personalities, Ted Griffiths.
Ted passed away in a Pretoria hospital last Friday after falling and breaking a hip on Monday. He was 85.
He and his wife, Dorothy, moved to Pretoria in March this year after spending almost their entire adult lives in Ermelo.
The couple came to Ermelo in 1965 when Ted was transferred here as area manager for an insurance firm.He soon settled in and quickly became actively involved in a variety of social activities.
Although Ted will be remembered by many for his involvement in the real estate business, more specifically the Alpha Estate Agency, which he and Dorothy founded, it is in the field of chess, magic shows, puppeteering and aeronautics that he will best be remembered.
As a keen chess player, he founded the Ermelo Chess Club in 1972 and until his departure from Ermelo this year, he was actively involved in coaching youngsters and encouraging them to play the game of chess.
Ted also used to post weekly contributions in the Highvelder in which he recorded the outcome of the club’s chess matches and posed “problems” for his avid readers and fellow chess players to figure out.
For many years Ted and his “assistant” Dorothy entertained and delighted young and old alike with their magic shows and marionettes.
The Griffiths name was also synonymous with the running of the roller skating rink on Friday nights, the original Ermelo Flying Club of which he was also a founder member, the model airplane club and a committed involvement with the activities of the Ermelo Methodist Church.
Ted is survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
A memorial service for Ted will be held on Friday 4 September at 14:00 in the Valley Methodist Church, 1017 Ben Swart, Street Villieria, Pretoria.
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