Passings: Professor Kristine Griffin
July 1, 2009
Kristine Griffin, 49, died Tuesday, June 30 at Haven Hospice after a two-year battle with cancer.
Kristine was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1981 and earned her Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Florida; the title of her 1993 dissertation was: "PSL(2,q) acting totally irregularly on a projective plane of order n."
She was an adjunct instructor at both UF and SFC for several years before formally joining the Santa Fe faculty full time in August 1999. She was an Associate Professor of Mathematics and taught Algebra, Trigonometry, Precalculus and the Calculus sequence.
"Kristine was a dedicated professional, particular and striving for perfection," said Steve Grosteffon, Chairman of the Mathematics Department. "She was student oriented, kind and helpful. She wanted her students to do well and reflected on her experiences from term to term to make continuous improvements. She was loved by her colleagues and will be deeply missed."
Kristine was brilliant, curious, spiritual, and an avid organic gardener, said her friend Julie Garrett. She was a member of the UF Organic Gardens Cooperative for more than two decades.
"She lived life with great intention," Julie said. "She loved nature and the outdoors, art and poetry and science. She was interested in the mind-body connection even before she got sick, and she used her illness for her personal growth. She was a beautiful, sensitive, and deeply private individual."
"We shared a love of nature and painting," said her friend Claudia Connelly, "and we talked a little about our life process. She was a good listener and communicator. I'm thankful that her passing during this final stage was so quick."
Byron Dyce said the math department is grieved over her passing.
"She was a very valuable member of our department," said Byron. "The department and what she did here was very important to her, and she was very important to us. She would look back on how she'd done things the year before and think about how she could do them better. She was very reflective. She took teaching very seriously."
She will be remembered with love.
Memorial Service July 18
Kristine Griffin's memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, July 18 at the Baughman Center at Lake Alice on the University of Florida campus. (The Baughman Center does not accept flowers.)
Baughman Center – webpage
Reception
Kristine's family is hosting a reception after the service at the Best Western Gateway Grande in the Santa Fe Room, 4200 NW 97th Blvd., near I-75 and NW 39th Avenue.
Condolences
If you'd like to send condolences to Kristine's parents, write to Donna and Edward Griffin, 10900 Crescent Lane, Clermont, FL 34711.
Donations
Donations in memory of Kristine should be sent to Haven Hospice, Attention Diana Norton, 4200 NW 90th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32606.
For more information, please contact Janet Foster at Santa Fe College.
