Dr. Vincent William Griffis has gone home to be with the LORD

 

 

Dr. Vincent William Griffis went home to his Savior on Saturday, September 27, 2014. 

Vince was the second son of Dr. Paul and Dorothy Griffis.  Paul Griffis had attended PBTS from 1929 until 1932 where he graduated as Salutatorian of his class.  Paul joined the faculty of Practical in 1952 and became the dean of academics in 1963. 

 

(L-R) Vincent Griffis, Paul Griffis, Dorothy Griffis, Darry Griffis (1964 Theologue)

Vince became of a student of Practical Bible Training School in the fall of 1964.  He became roommates with Walt Schlundt and friends with Jerry Traister and Dino Pedrone.  The four of them would become life-long friends.  Vince's freshman year was also the senior year for Woodrow Kroll and Gilbert Parker. 

Vince graduated from Practical Bible Training School in 1967 along with Walt, Jerry, and Dino. 

During his studies at PBTS, Vince met Suzanne Sisson.  The two would marry on January 24, 1969 after Vince received his Bachelor degree from Calvary Bible College. 

 

Vince's Senior Picture (1967 Theologue)

 

 

Vince and Sue moved to New England soon after being married where Vince taught at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf.  He was called onto becoming the headmaster for the Christian of Greater Fall River.  He served there for fourteen years.  In those years all four of their children were born: Aron, Andrew, Abigail, and Adam. 

 

The LORD still had a work for the Griffis family.  In 1988 Vince and Sue joined Wycliffe Bible Translators.  After training they were sent to Cameroon.  Vince started the Rain Forest International School for the Missionary Kids (MKs) and nationals.  They returned to the States in 2007. 

 

Vince and Sue

Vince and Sue with Dr. Dino Pedrone (2008)

 

 

On Saturday, May 10, 2009 Vince was given the first honorary doctorate from Davis College at the commencement.  He also delivered the main address to the graduating class. 

 

 

Vince Speaking to the graduating class of 2009

 

(L-R) Sue Griffis, Vince Griffis, Walt Schlundt, Jerry Traister, Dino Pedrone, Janice Chandler

 

Vince had been fighting cancer for many years, but was still able to come to Homecoming at his Alma Mater including his 45th class reunion in 2012. 

 

Class of 1967 (45th reunion)

 

Vince had been fighting cancer for sixteen years when the LORD called His faithful servant home to glory.  At his memorial service on Saturday, October 4, 2014 in Swansea, MA friends and family remembered his love for family and friends and his mischief.  He was able to say goodbye to all of his kids before his homegoing. 

 

You will be missed Vince.  Thank you for serving our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ with your whole heart. 

 

To read his obituary click here. 

 

Donations can be made to the college.  A fund has been setup in his name:

 

Vincent Griffis Memorial Fund at Davis College, 400 Riverside Dr., Johnson City, NY 13790

Homecoming 2010 and the Gala: Friday, October 1, 2010

Registration Table for Homecoming

Pastor Mike Jayne (1994) and Mrs. Patsy Holmes (1952)

Worship team at Davis

Pastor Craig Hall (1994) manager of the Davis bookstore

Vince and Sue Griffis (1967)

Dr. Dino Pedrone (1967) President of Davis College

Dr. Dino Pedrone (1967)

Dr. Ron Hawkins (1963) Vice Provost for the Graduate School and Online Program at Liberty University

Dr. Ron Hawkins (1963)

Dr. Dino Pedrone and Dr. Ron Hawkins

Mr. and Mrs. George Whitman (class 1945)

Mr. Carl Silver (1953) and Mrs. Sally Silver (1951)

Mr. Bill Dykes, Gospel Singer and Trustee on the Board at Davis

Jerry Traister (1967) Chairman of the Board with Dr. Pedrone

Mr. Jerry Traister (1967)

Dr. Pedrone brought up the Board of Trustees and had the Pastors in the room pray for them

Several students sharing about their time at Davis and God's calling

Mrs. Eleanor Krooswyk (class 1937)

Class of 1965 Reunion

Classmates reconnecting after 30 years

Sally Silver and her classmate from 1951

Here is a crew from 1967 (L-R) Jerry Traister, Walter Schlundt, and Vince Griffis

The majority of Class Agents at Homecoming

Dr. Ron Hawkins at an Alumni Gathering

Dr. Ron Hawkins and his wife Peggy

Dr. Gilbert Parker and his wife Marolyn (both 1965)

Dr. Gilbert Parker and his wife Marolyn (both 1965)

The Gym transformed into the Gala

One of the place settings

The History Displays in the Gym

The History Displays in the Gym

The lights come on for the Gala

Guests arriving and sitting down at the tables

While the guests were eating I presented the History of the College in Lowe

The History of Davis

There were torches lit up around campus

Homecoming 2010 was an amazing time this past Friday. It was quite the Historic day that was enjoyed by those who attended. Let me take you on the journey:

After a long rain that flood the street on Thursday the rain continued to come down in the early morning light. By 7:45 AM the rain had stopped and the sun started to appear and the clouds began to dissipate. Around 8 AM Alumni started arriving on campus to register for Homecoming. They were greeted as the first picture shows by Jenny Green, Roseann Melious, and Nikki Post. The first session started a little after 9:00 AM in the morning with a group made up of two students (Ben Tinsch and Levi Owens) and the adjunct professor of music, Scott Ladd (2008). Dr. Pedrone (1967) gave a welcome to the audience of students and Alumni and introduced the speaker, Dr. Ron Hawkins (1963) who is the Vice Provost for the Graduate School and Online Program at Liberty University.

Dr. Hawkins had a great message between his two sessions (Session 1: 9-10 AM and Session 2: 10:07-11 AM). He talked about the Christian life and the powers in a Christian life to make us more and more like Jesus Christ. He talked about the one goal we should striving for is to be an imitator of Jesus Christ. To do that we have three powers: The Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the Local Body of Believers (the Church).

Following the second session with Dr. Hawkins there was a break before Dr. Pedrone's Alumni Address. From around 11:30 AM -12:30 PM, Dr. Pedrone along with Jerry Traister and several others talked to the students and Alumni. Before they began we were all treated to Mr. Bill Dykes singing. Mr. Dykes is a former member of the Cathedrals and now is on the Davis Board. Several weeks ago I had written on his Facebook wall about the Hymn "God will Take Care of You" which was written at PBTS in 1904 and asked him to sing it if possible because of the of history of it. He sang a medley of the hymn and told the rest of the people about the history. It was great!

After he had sung the mini-concert, Dr. Pedrone had all the Board Members in Lowe come to the front and introduce themselves. After they introduced themselves he had all the pastors in the room to come up and pray over them as Dr. Ron Hawkins lead in prayer.

After the prayer for the Board Members Dr. Pedrone brought up 5 students to the front of Lowe Hall. They were: Junior Ben Tinsch, Transfer student Brad Zembower, Sophomore Mariah Britton, Senior Nate Benner, and Sophomore Brandon Grey. Each student talked about how God had been working in their life at Davis College. Ben has been working at his local highway department during the summer to be a testimony for Christ and also serving on a worship team at North Syracuse Baptist, where Dr. George Miller III is pastor. Brad has had his worldview changed and he has been able to do more preaching, though he is not sure if God is calling him to be a pastor. Mariah mentioned how Davis is like a home away from home. Nate met his wife at Davis and the college has been a place where he has been able to mature. Brandon is training to go back to his home in the Queens and minister to the families and people back in New York City.

After interview the 5 students Dr. Pedrone mentioned the three things that he is trying to stress this year:

1. Academics: Davis is a place of higher education. He wants the students to be students of the WORD, and students of the field they are studying to be in. That they do their best in their learning. Well prepared for the World.

2. Chapels: Importance of the Chapel, he wants the students to come to Chapel believing they might be called in a chapel. Receive what God has for them. Please Pray for the Chapels.

3. Victorious Christian Life: We are already given the Victorious life in Christ. Since we are IN CHRIST. It is not something we are striving to be, we are victorious in Christ. We need to live out that VICTORY!

Dr. Pedrone moved to what can the Alumni Do?

• Pray for the College (Most important thing to do)
• Give to the College (Many needs on the campus; we need to build on the scholarship fund.)

Dr. Pedrone stated that, "The future of this country will depend upon men and women trained for Gospel ministry. I believe that will all my heart. I would have never come here if I did not believe that."

Dr. Pedrone introduced Adrain Young of Ambassador Advisors. The purpose of Ambassador Advisors is to help Christians prepare for the future through Biblical stewardship. Later in the afternoon Adrain did a presentation about Biblical stewardship and mentioned that "17 of the 38 parables that Christ taught are about possessions; The topic of possessions is mentioned in Scripture more than any other:

- 3 times more than love

- 7 times more than prayer

- 8 times more than belief

About 15% of God's Word (2,172 verses) deals with possessions, treasures hidden in a field, pearls, talents, pounds, stables, etc."

He shared a lot of good information about how to use it for the Kingdom of God, since we cannot take it with us. How can each of us use what God has entrusted to us for His Kingdom? Great things to think and pray about.

Dr. Pedrone at the end of the Alumni Address had us turn to Psalm 19 which is a wonderful Psalm of the Revelation of the LORD.

• Verses 1-6: These verses talk about the Revelation of God that we see in the wonders above.
• Verses 7-11: These verses talk about the Revelation God in the Word within our lives
• Verses 12-14: These verses talk about the Revelation God in His workers

After talking about Psalm 19 it was lunch time with Class Reunions. So many Alumni were there as the pictures above show. Alumni from the 1930 through the present day. I had a great time visiting with many of the Alumni for the brief time I was down there for lunch.

At 2 PM the Class Agents met in Lowe Hall while the rest of the Alumni continued to gather in the Dining Hall. We discussed different ways to reach our classmates and the classmates were are trying to reconnect with (Note: If you are an Alumnus or Alumna of PBTS/PBC/Davis and you have not heard from Davis in a while, there is a good chance we do not have your address and we would love to reconnect with you. Please use the form on the side and send a message to me). It was also discussed what day(s) of the week works best for Homecoming. We were able to get a group picture of most of the class agents as seen above.

After the Class Agent meeting there was a time of fellowship and reflection with Dr. Ron and Mrs. Peggy Hawkins and Dr. Gilbert and Mrs. Marolyn Parker. It was a time of prayer for different Alumni that are ill or hurting and also a time of reflecting on professors who have touched our lives in the past, many of which have gone home to glory.

As the day continued on the final prep for the gala was put into place. A History Display was put together by Jenny Green (Dr. Pedrone's Administrative Assistant) and Jeremy McGinniss (the College Librarian). Sharon O'Connor (Director of Marketing) had asked me several months before for a list of items that could go on display and they took that list and expanded upon it and created a wonderful display in the Gym for the Guests of the Gala. From around 5:30 until around 6:10 PM I was at the Gala as guests came in and talked to some of them about the history of college. It was great to see the gym fill with over 400 guests. As the guests were entering the Gala I went to Lowe Hall.

In Lowe I did my History Presentation in front of around 30-40 people as the guests at the gala ate their meal. After I finished my presentation I switched the feed over the Gala which was streaming from the Gym. A video made at the college was shown feature several students, professors, and Dr. Pedrone. After the video was finished Board Member Jeff Coghlan introduced student, Ben Kettor who shared about Davis and his desire to go back to his home in Liberia, Africa to help rebuild his war torn country. Jeff Coghlan once again rose up as the anticipation rose and he introduced Gov. Mike Huckabee to the stage.

Much cheering was heard in audience of the gala and cheers also rang out in Lowe Hall where it was being broadcast. Mike Huckabee is a very humble person with a great personality. He joked about some of the events on the campaign trail in 2008. One that stood out to me.

A lady walked up to Gov. Huckabee shaking her finger and said to him, "I heard you are a Baptist minister."

Gov. Huckabee replied, "Yes Ma'am I am."

"Are you one of those narrow minded Baptist Ministers that thinks that ONLY Baptists are going to Heaven?"

He replied back, "No, Ma'am I am more narrow minded than that, because I don't think some of the Baptists are going to Heaven."

He continued on later talking about his humble roots and how his parents were heard working people in Arkansas who wanted a better life for their children. He mentioned how he was the first male in his family to get a college education. He said it was because of scholarships and hard work. He was very thankful for the Christian education he received and how he was proud to support colleges like Davis that give a Christian worldview and train future leaders for the country. He mentioned how as governor the thing that disgusted him each year was how much money went into the prison system. He said that the cost to keep one (1) inmate in prison for one (1) year is enough to pay for one (1) person for four (4) years of college. Which one would be better? That is why he supports Davis College to train men and women for the ministry and be productive members of society. He challenged the audience to get behind Davis College and support them. He then went and sat down as Dr. Pedrone came up and closed out the very special evening that brought many friends and alumni to the campus.

After the evening of excitement there was a Hymn sing in Lowe Hall with Dr. Brent Young. About half a dozen Alumni stayed as we enjoyed some Hymns of Faith. After the Hymn sing several of us were out side praising God for the wonderful day. It was a great Homecoming and Gala.

Thanks to all who help put it all together

Graduation 2009: May 9, 2009

Dr. Dino Pedrone, Rev. Vince Griffis, Mr. Chris Seavey

The Class of 2009

Senior Chris Dorais with Rev. Jerry Traister, Chairperson of Board (Class 1967)

Dr. Dino Pedrone, President (Class 1967)

Naomi and her parents from Sri Lanka

(L-R) Daniel Rathmell, Church Relations (Class 1973), his wife, Terry Robertson, Elizabeth Robertson, Mary Knapton (class 1950), Roger Knapton (class 1950), Dr. Dino Pedrone (1967), Terry and Elizabeth's two sons.

Members of the class of 1967 (and adopted 1968 member)
(L-R) Suzanne (Sisson) Griffis (1967), Vincent Griffis (1967), Walter Schlundt (1967), Jerry Traister (1967), Dino Pedrone (1967), and Janice (Weatherbee) Chandler (1968)

Graduation 2009 went very well on Saturday, May 9, 2009. A new group of Alumni have gone out of the halls of our fine college. The Sun never sets on PBTS, PBC, Davis Alumni and it so true in seeing the students that are leaving the college to go out into the world. There were many special events that happened during the ceremony. During the ceremony an award of Trustee Emeritus was awarded to Rev. Gordon Hay (Class 1954). Also a first for Davis College was the conferring of Honorary Doctorates.

The New York State Education Department has authorized Davis College to grant honorary doctorates. The Doctor of Divinity degree is conferred on individuals who have distinguished themselves in Christian ministry and leadership. Their life and service in ministry exemplifies the college's mission of impacting the world for Jesus Christ. Today the college honors two distinguished servants of the Lord with the Doctor of Divinity degree.

The two people that received them were Vincent Griffis and Terry Robertson.

From the program the bios of each:

Vincent W. Griffis spent most of his formative years on the campus of Davis College, graduating from PBTS in 1967. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Calvary Bible College, a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology from Rhode Island College and a Master of Business Administration from Southeastern Massachusetts University. He is presently a doctoral candidate (Ed.D.) at Boston University. Vincent has served as headmaster of the Christian School of Greater Fall River, Massachusetts and was also the director of Rain Forest International School in Cameroon. Currently, he is serving as a Scripture Use Researcher with Wycliffe Bible Translators, examining how much use is made of the vernacular Scriptures in Cameroon. Vincent is married to Suzanne, and they have four children and one grandson. Griffis Hall in the Chatlos Building is named after his father who was a faculty member and administrator at PBTS.

Terry M. Robertson was raised in Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Samford University in Birmingham. He earned a Master in Religious Education degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He now serves as the Executive Director and Treasurer of the Baptist Convention of New York with offices in East Syracuse, New York. Terry has pastored churches in Alabama, New Jersey and New York and also served as the Director of Missions for Frontier Baptist Association of Buffalo. His passion is the church and reaching the lost with the Gospel message. He is actively involved in. church planting responsibilities in the central New York state region. Terry is married to Elizabeth, and they have three children and one grandson.

After receiving his honorary Doctorate of Divinity the now Dr. Vincent Griffis gave an address to the Graduating Class. He addressed them about the troubles that they will face, but to continue on. He gave wisdom from the Scriptures about the importance of prayer in a believers life. How we don't do it enough, but it is so critical.

After Dr. Griffis spoke the degrees were handed out as a new group of Alumni entered the school history. The ceremony concluded with a prayer of dedication and the singing of the Alma Mater.