Alice Cordel Griffin

Alice Cordel Griffin (89) RN, BSN, (Captain, USAF), of Asheville, North Carolina passed away on May 23, 2024, at home, surrounded by the love of her husband, children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends. She was the daughter of the late Anton and Marie Cordel of Tipton, Kansas. Alice is survived by her beloved husband Richard (Dick) Lapsley Griffin of Asheville, attorney, to whom shwas married for more than 60 years. Additionally, she is survived by her daughter Abigail Griffin (Rees Perry) of Asheville, son Todd Griffin (Stephannie) of Raleigh, daughter Aylett Burchfiel (Eddie) of Barnardsville, and son Richard Griffin (Lynne) of Frederick, Maryland. Alice dearly loved her eleven grandchildren Morgan Aylett Burchfiel Wilcox (Bryce Wilcox), Thomas Guy Burchfiel, Connor Cordel Griffin, Andrew Given Griffin (Ariana Garcia), Alaina Ashlyn Griffin, Jacob Sky Griffin Perry (deceased), Bryant Brady Griffin, Daniel Anton Griffin, Animae Arrow PerryGriffin, Patrick Gordon Griffin, and Maebon Halo PerryGriffin. Alice’s parents, Anton Cordel and Marie Urban Cordel were the children of German immigrants who settled in Kansas to farm wheat. Alice was one of seven children and was born at the family home in Tipton, Kansas on July 31, 1934. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Anna Marie Gasper (Norbert), Cecila Harris (survived by her husband Jim Harris of Georgia), Eleanora Arnoldy (Marceline), and her brother, Arnold Cordel. She is survived by her brother, Edward Cordel (Alberta), and her sister, Mildred Vilven Ramsey (widow of Larry and Taylor). Alice has scores of nieces, nephews, and their children whom she fondly remembered and loved each each one. After graduating from Tipton High School in 1952, Alice embarked on a remarkable lifetime of service. She went to nursing school in Wichita, Kansas, where she received her RN, and then into the US Air Force as a staff nurse. She was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Phalsbourg, France where she cared for the post-WWII occupation pilots and crews for several years achieving several promotions. She owned a convertible VW Karmann Ghia which she drove across much of Europe with her scarf flying in the wind. Later, she was transferred to Patrick Air Force Base (Cape Canaveral, Florida) where she was promoted to Captain and was assigned to help care for pilots, crews, and Apollo astronauts. It was there that she met the love of her life Dick Griffin, who was a WWII Navy Veteran and USAF JAG officer. In 1963 after a brief three-month courtship they were engaged and married and Alice left the USAF to raise a family. But Alice never lost the love of nursing and later went to NCSU and ultimately UNC-Chapel Hill where she received her BSN. She worked as a home health nurse, and later as nursing home inspector for the State of North Carolina. Even long after retirement, she could be counted on to research each and every family ailment and treatment. Alice cared for many. Alice was an avid member of the USAF Nursing Association and helped with the Women’s Military Memorial located at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. She and Dick along with others helped design, fund, and build the WNC Veterans Memorial in Downtown Asheville. She was a proud member of the American Legion Post in Asheville. Alice and Dick raised their family across many locations including New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (Ramey AFB), as well as Asheville, Charlotte, and Cary, NC. Alice and Dick spent the last 40 years in Asheville living in Haw Creek where she gardened and baked many loaves of her award-winning bread which was enjoyed by all. She loved baking, decorating, and delivering Finnish cardamom Christmas bread wreaths to her family and neighbors. In 2022 Alice and Dick moved to Big Ivy - Walker Creek in Barnardsville, NC to live beside her daughter Aylett and her husband Eddie. Alice loved her Kansas roots and her adopted Carolina mountain home and pulled for the Tarheels, Wolfpack, and Jayhawks. The family spent many vacations in Tipton enjoying time on the farms with her parents and siblings. A Catholic Mass will be held for Alice on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 1:00 PM at St. Eugene Church in Asheville followed by a family interment at Lewis Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the WNC Veterans Memorial Fund to the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC, 4 Vanderbilt Park Dr., Suite 300, Asheville, NC 28803) to help maintain the memorial in perpetuity.

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Alice Cordel Griffin

July 31, 1934 - May 23, 2024