Neil Griffin celebrates 97th birthday with family

Neil Griffin of Van Buren Township celebrated his 97th birthday with his wife of 70 years Thelma, age 89, and their family at their home on Robson Road.
A special guest at the birthday party was Millie Baker of the city of Belleville who has been friends with Neil since they were children and her late husband Bob had been Neil’s classmate. Millie recently turned 96.
He was born July 23, 1925 in Toledo and graduated from Belleville High School in 1943. Then he went into the Air Force and then the Air National Guard, being in the military for 17 years.
He married Thelma in 1952 and they first lived in a small house called the “Doll House” on West Columbia Avenue in the City of Belleville. They moved briefly to Garden City and then to the home on Robson, where they have been ever since. They enjoy always having a garden.
They are the parents of three children: Sue Wilkinson of South Lyon, Conny Melchi of Hamburg, and Chuck Griffin of Redford, all of whom graduated from Belleville High School, like Dad. Now there are four grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, as well.
He served as an aircraft mechanic at Willow Run and then worked for American Airlines. He retired from Environmental Research Institute of Michigan that was at Willow Run Airport before it moved to Ann Arbor.
Both Neil and Thelma are painters and have been active members of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts. One of their recent partnerships setting up the Community Art FISH project, which began in 2018. Neil cut out more than 100 wooden fish, primed the wood, and then they passed them out to other local artists to decorate and sign on the back. They prepared poles and brackets and installed them in Horizon Park each summer for the public to enjoy. They had a committee of helpers, but Neil and Thelma led the way. Each year the number of decorated fish to install grows.
They now have passed that project on to others, but reportedly they do have two fish in their bathroom on Robson.
They also have been active members of the Rowdies MG Club. One year they drove to California in an MG, heading out with one MG and coming back with two. They do everything together.