JuDGE JoE GriFfin

Judge Joe Edward Griffin, age 65, of Texarkana, Arkansas, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, May 10, 2015. Joe was born November 28, 1949, in Nashville, Arkansas, and had lived most of his life in Texarkana, Arkansas. He was a graduate of Arkansas High School, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas Law School in Fayetteville. He was a member and deacon of Central Baptist Church. Joe served as city attorney for Texarkana, Arkansas from April 1975 to December 1982. He was elected municipal judge and served as such from 1983 to 1990. In 1990, he was elected to serve as circuit judge for the district that once included Miller, Lafayette, Hempstead, and Nevada counties. Since 1998, he has served as the 8th Judicial District Circuit Judge. He had been a member of several boards and committees through the years and was a member of the Arkansas Bar Association. He was instrumental in starting the Miller County Drug Court in Texarkana. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. He was a Veteran of the United States Army and he was preceded in death by his father, Eddie Griffin. He was a devoted husband of forty-five years to his wife, Alice Griffin of Texarkana, Arkansas, a loving father to his two children and their spouses, Wendy and Art Kimbrough of McKinney, Texas, and Matt and Tina Griffin of Texarkana, Texas. He is survived by his six grandchildren, Alexandra Kimbrough, Victoria Kimbrough, and Isabella Kimbrough, all of McKinney, Texas, Whitmore Griffin, Mallory Griffin, and Boyd Griffin, all of Texarkana, Texas, his mother, Maureen Griffin Wallis of Texarkana, Arkansas, one sister, Gail Davis of Texarkana, Arkansas, and a number of other relatives and close friends.

A celebration of his life will be at 10:00 A. M. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Texarkana on Moores Lane, with Rev. David Watkins and Rev. Phillip Dunn officiating. Burial will be at East Memorial Gardens under the direction of Texarkana Funeral Home, Arkansas.

The family will receive friends at the Atrium of First Baptist Church Moores Lane from 6 PM until 8 PM Tuesday.

Memorials may be made to: Miller County Drug Court Fund, County Treasurers Office, 412 Laurel Street, Texarkana, Arkansas, 71854, CASA, P. O. Box 1546, Texarkana, Texas 75504, or to the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, #2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205.

Online registration is at www. texarkanafuneralhome.com.