Ian Tyrel Griffith was born April 18, 2010 in Cordell, Okla., and passed away peacefully at his home in Yale, Okla., on August 11, 2021. From birth until death, he was surrounded by loving family and friends. Services were held Monday, August 16, 2021 under the direction of Palmer Marler Funeral Home, Cushing.
Ian loved any outdoor activity; exploring, survival, foraging, fishing and hunting were special passions of his. He also loved spending time with his buddy Jakeb Bellew. One of the greatest gifts ever given to Ian by his Mom was when she taught him to read. It opened up such a big world for him and he had a passion to learn about anything and everything that he could. He read when he ate, when he was supposed to be asleep, in the car, and whenever he could find a spare moment.
Ian was an artist through and through. He learned to draw well at an early age and enjoyed countless hours drawing and making comic strips and cartoon drawings. He spent many hours at the Yale Library and loved to be the “first one” to check out a new book. He enjoyed going on field trips and participating in learning co-ops that were put on through the Cimarron Valley Home Educators group. He developed a lot of friendships and had a lot of good times with the group.
Ian absolutely loved a good joke and was always telling them to whoever he perceived would be a willing audience. He read joke books looking for new material and was always trying them out on us. Ian was an active member of the Twin Mounds 4-H club and learned a lot of his public speaking skills from speech competitions through 4-H. He had just finished up a year as Vice President of his club and he really enjoyed leading the group in the 4-H ritual.
He loved to spend time with his brothers Kevin and Declan. They spent countless hours playing games, shooting bb guns, playing Pokémon, jumping on the trampoline, playing with their puppy and making all sorts of messes.
We had lots of conversations over the years about God, faith, and heaven. Ian thought deeply about all of these things and was well grounded in the things that he believed. His faith was strong and pure. He told us before he passed that he wanted to go to heaven, and though we are hurting badly for ourselves we are happy for our little boy. We saw God grant him the breath of life, and we are forever going to be grateful for the 11 bonus years that God gave us with him.
Ian is survived by his parents, Preston and Chantel Griffith of Yale, Oklahoma, 2 brothers Kevin Griffith of Hobart, Oklahoma and Declan Griffith of Yale; Great Grandparents Jess and Mary Gillis of Centerville, Mo., and Martha McKellips of Corinth, Texas; Grandparents Keith and Diana Griffith of Rocky, Okla., and Curtis and Karla Herrmann of Agra Okla.; Uncles and Aunts include Jesse and Sheri Griffith of Hobart Okla., Tucker and Tabitha Griffith of Rocky, Okla., Gabriel and Kourtney Herrmann of Delta, Colo., Daniel and Rebekah Herrmann, Samuel and Mikayla Herrmann, and Zach and Ashtyn Herrmann, all of Agra.
He is also survived by a throng of cousins each of whom he loved so much and enjoyed spending time with whenever he could.
He was preceded in death by Great Grandparents Earnest and Lois Griffith, Alva and Janice Herrmann, Wayne Pearcey, Bud Greenfield, Vern McKellips and by one cousin Dawson Herrmann.