William Colvin Griffin

The family of William C. Griffin, also known as “Mr. Clock”, is saddened to announce that he passed away, September 16, 2012, at Heron Point, his Chestertown home for 21 years. He was born in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, PA, on October 9, 1914, to William R. and Bess Colvin Griffin. He lived in Mt. Pleasant until entering Penn State in 1932. He graduated in 1936 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, MS in 1953. From 1936 until his retirement in 1979, he worked for Atlas Powder Company. His division along the way became part of ICI Americas. He was a chemist in product development, becoming Associate Director. He held over 36 patents. Notable in his work was the development of a method for selecting emulsifiers for a wide range of products, known as the HLB system. The concept is still used today by chemists. On HLB’s 50th anniversary, Bill was honored by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and in 2008, Croda Ltd. named a research laboratory building in New Castle, DE, “The William C. Griffin Innovation Center.” In his 50’s, Bill learned to sail and in the next 30 years, he and his wife, Betty sailed the Chesapeake. Sailing provided their entry to Chestertown, which eventually became their home after having lived in West Chester, PA, for 35 years. Antique clocks and repairing them was his passion. After retirement, it became his job and hobby. Bill’s other interests were woodworking, model trains, flying model planes, bread making, music, travel, computer activities and volunteering at Heron Point. Bill was a member of the Old Salts and a Chester River Tester. He was active in the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown and was an Elder. He restored an abandoned electric organ that served the church for several years. He was the loving and devoted husband of Elizabeth Beard Griffin for almost 56 years. He was the loving father of their children, Bill and wife Maggie, and Maris Vanasse and husband Rick, and grandchildren, George and Willy Griffin and Sara, Carl and Sam Vanasse. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2012, at 11:30 a.m. at Presbyterian Church of Chestertown. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, 905 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620 or the Benevolence Fund at Heron Point, 501 East Campus Avenue Chestertown, MD 21620. .

William Colvin Griffin

October 9, 1914 - September 16, 2012