March 11, 1972 - March 5, 2020: John William Griffin Jr. of West Hartford, CT died at home with family and close friends after an extended yet valiant battle with cancer on March 5, 2020. John was born in Washington, DC to Carolyn Johnson Griffin and the late John William Griffin. He grew up in Alexandria, Va., and graduated from Episcopal High School (Alexandria) and Wesleyan University with a degree in Modern European History in 1994. In both high school and college he played varsity football and lacrosse, and he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
After college he worked in New York City at Chemical Bank, Bear Stearns, Lazard Freres, Credit Suisse First Boston (also in London), UBS Securities, and Numerix, handling the post-bankruptcy of the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings. He moved to Hartford ten years ago to work for the Hartford Investment Management Co. in Risk Management. He was a featured speaker at many financial conferences during that time.
John is survived by his mother, and three sisters, Jennifer Griffin (Greg Myre), Caitlin Penny (Carlos Penny) and Cassie Gordon Grant (Conrad Gordon Grant), his beloved nieces and nephews, Annalise, Amelia and Luke Myre, and Lachlan Gordon Grant, and cousins.
His many friends in Hartford, New York City and Virginia will always remember his wry wit, outsized personality, and his kind and gentle soul. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in memory of John’s name to The Prevent Cancer Foundation www.PreventCancer.org.