Claire LaVerne Griffin-Nelson

On Saturday, March 30, 2024, LaVerne Griffin-Nelson, our beloved mom, passed away peacefully into the arms of Jesus and went home to be with her Lord and Savior. She was born on Wednesday, December 27, 1933 in Dillon, Montana to Trevor and Luella Waldemar and lived at their home in Grant, Montana until she was five years old, when the family moved to Dillon where she received her education and graduated from Beaverhead County High School in 1951. She continued her studies at Kinman Business University in Spokane, Washington where she graduated with a Bachelors of Secretarial Science Degree. From there she moved to Prosser, WA to her first job at the Irrigation Experiment Station. In 1951 she married Clarence Griffin and they eventually moved to Butte where they were together for over thirty years and raised a family of six children. LaVerne stayed at home to be “mother” to their kids until the youngest began school. She worked part time as secretary at a local architecture firm then full time at the Machinists Union, then at Montana Tech as assistant secretary to the President and Dean. She ended her working career after ten years as an eligibility technician at Human Resources LIEAP Program. The most important goals in her life were to be a good mother and wife and to raise her children in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. She dearly loved her family and enjoyed camping trips, fishing and boating with them. She also loved to travel, go snowmobiling, four-wheeling and play Duplicate Bridge and Pinochle with family and friends. She belonged to several card clubs. Her church and church family were very important to her. After the kids were all raised, she married Harold “Ozzie” Nelson and they had nearly 20 years of really special times together until he passed away in 2007. They loved to go dancing, went on several cruises, bus tour and Broadway shows. She is survived by her four sons and their families: Tom Griffin; Robert and Connie Griffin and their children, Brian Griffin, Laura and Paul Rhodes and daughter Serene; Randy and Carol Griffin and sons Justin and Cory; Ken Griffin and son Nathan, also her daughter, Rose and Jim Stone and their daughter Crystal and Paul Salois and their sons Dylan and Trent. Great-grandchildren also include; Kashton Griffin, Kesleigh Griffin and Owen Salois. She is preceded in death by her youngest son Daniel Brian Griffin, her husband, Harold, grandson Dakota Griffin, great-grandson, Lucas Salois and her sister and brother-in-law Kay and Don Shreeve. LaVerne now joins all her loved ones in Heaven. Funeral services for LaVerne will be conducted Saturday morning at 10 o’clock in Heritage Bible Church, with visitation starting at 9 o’clock. Interment will be in Mountain View Cemetery.

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Claire LaVerne Griffin-Nelson

December 27, 1933 - March 30, 2024