Obituary of Mary E. Griggs

On Friday, December 5th, Mary E. Griggs, 73, died peacefully surrounded by the love, laughter, tears and comfort of her family.

Mary was born on February 15, 1952 in Elizabeth, NJ. She was the youngest daughter of Herbert and Virginia Arnold who raised Mary along with her sister and two brothers in Florham Park. She attended Holy Family School and Church. After attending Bayley Ellard, she went on to marry her high-school sweetheart, Billy Griggs, with whom she had three daughters.

Upon his death, Mary lived with her parents and two daughters for many years. She attended St.Elizabeth's College where she earned a degree in Business Administration while working full time as a regional sales manager for Titanium Industries. During this time, Mary began what would become a long life of service to those in need. As an active parishioner at Holy Family, she began a teen youth group, taught CCD on Sunday, helped host the Interfaith Council for the Homeless at Bayley Ellard High School and volunteered at Cheshire Home in Florham Park. Following a brief time working for Exxon International, she decided to change careers so that she could dedicate herself professionally to helping others.

However, before making this change, she became a foster parent and two of those children were destined to be hers forever. She adopted another daughter, Abby, as well as her only son, Chris - who introduced her into the world of sports.
She then accepted a position at ECLC in Chatham. During her 27- year career with ECLC, her final role being Director of Community Personnel Services, she worked tirelessly in support-employment jobs and support coordination services for individuals with special needs to achieve their greatest potential. She thrived in this work. She had so much insight, wisdom and empathy for each person and family who came into her life.

Mary packed a lot of life into her 73 years and she has left an enormous void for all who knew her. She will be missed beyond words especially by her grandchildren. No matter how busy she was or how she was feeling, she was there to support and love them. When things did not seem promising for Christmas, she made sure that there would be a gift for each.

She is survived by her children Jennifer O'Connor, Jessica (Dan) Gaeta, Christopher Griggs (Alex fiancée), Abigayle Griggs and her birth daughter Darcy Tweedy. She is also survived by her sister Stephanie (Jack) Treiber, Thomas (Kathy) Arnold, James (Rosemary) Arnold and Joanne Ackerman, her grandchildren Karly Chisholm, William Gaeta, Maya Gaeta, Benjamin O'Connor, Luke O'Connor, Quinn O'Connor and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial Visitation will be on Friday, December 19, 2025 from 4-7pm at Dangler Funeral Home, 600 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains. A Memorial Mass for Mary will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 10:00am at Assumption Church, 91 Maple Avenue, Morristown. 

In lieu of flowers, please donate to  ECLC Foundation – CPS, 100 Passaic Ave., Suite 1, Chatham, NJ 07928 (www.eclcofnj.org).