John Robert Griggs

On February 16, 2022 in Pocatello, Idaho, PCRR 9508 left the station carrying John Griggs to his heavenly resting place.

John Robert Griggs was born December 24, 1937 to L.W. and Loal Griggs (Jr.) in Pocatello, Idaho.  He was the first of three sons that would complete their family.  His growing up years were filled with many cousins in a big extended family on his mother’s side to have fun and pull shenanigans with.  He was a friendly boy and never lacked for good friends and good times.  Many family camping and fishing trips were a big part of his youth.  He loved baseball and loved to fill the catcher position on his teams.  Music was a big part of the family home – music was always playing on the phonograph or radio.  He played trombone in the high school band.  John also played the piano, guitar, ukulele and harmonica. As a very young boy he received his very first Lionel O gauge train set for Christmas and that ignited a lifelong passion that grew beyond anyone’s imagination. 

He graduated from Pocatello High School in 1957. He attended Idaho State University taking basic Engineering and then Radio Electronics which he received a certificate in. He worked several part time jobs while doing so.

On June 27, 1958 he married Ethel Rae Harrison in the Idaho Falls, Idaho LDS temple.  They were blessed with 3 daughters.  Marguerite, Diana and Jackie.  Coming from a home of all boys this had to have been a whole new world to be surrounded by all girls but he never felt short changed.  He told everyone that he had the 3 best daughters in the world and loved and was proud of them all. 

John began working for the Union Pacific Railroad in Pocatello in 1960 as a telegrapher and wire chief. In December 1965 he left the UPRR and began working for AT&T which became Mountain Bell which became Qwest from which he retired after 38 years in January 2003. He was a Central Office Tech and worked in the office troubleshooting as well as up various mountains in all kinds of weather working on the microwave equipment.  He became heavily involved in the CWA Local for this area as well as the regional area after determining there were things that needed fixing to help the employees and he couldn’t just gripe about it, he had to take action.  He also participated in several bowling leagues and company golf tournaments through the years with a collection of trophies for his efforts.

He took his wife and daughters camping and fishing every July up in the Stanley Basin for many years until his parents bought land in Island Park and built a cabin.  John was very handy and could do wiring, basic plumbing, soldering and welding.  These skills came in handy as he built the family home on Pocatello Creek and helped wire and plumb the cabin for his parents.  He purchased a boat to add to the fishing fun but his daughters also desired to have fun waterskiing so good thing the boat was 23’ with a good sized engine.  He taught his daughters basic mechanical skills and instilled a good work ethic in them that has served them well.

After completing the home on Pocatello Creek Road in 1975, the family moved from busy Clark Street in the middle of town to 5 acres in what seemed at the time the middle of nowhere. This was part of John’s plan to have his own railroad empire complete with tunnel, trestle and swing bridge that was part of his outdoor live steam railroad system.  He built his own 1 &1/2” to scale steam engine and hosted fellow live steam enthusiasts to come run their engines on his track many times through the years beginning in 1979. In his quest to have yet a bigger train he obtained an actual retired Union Pacific bright yellow caboose which sits on the front part of their acreage.  He was a member of the Pocatello Model Railroad club and had many different style and size trains running around and on display. He also had a motorcar which he would take to various places in the west to run on actual railway with other motorcar enthusiasts. He also was a ham radio enthusiast with a working set up for many years and the call sign W7ISI.  He loved gadgets and brought home the first Pong home gaming system shortly after it came out.  He had a love/hate relationship with his newest Alexa device but enjoyed the music she would play for him.

Macular degeneration stole his eyesight and a lot of his independence a few years ago which was difficult for him but he made the best of it and we all admired what he still could do without being able to see much.

John was predeceased by his parents L.W. and Loal Griggs, his in-laws Frank and Bernice Harrison, and sister-in-laws Renee Griggs, Evelyn Greene and Carol Ann Robertson.

John is survived by his loving wife of 63 years Ethel Rae, their 3 daughters

Marguerite (Ed) Snell, Pocatello, ID

Diana (Craig) Breker, Highlands Ranch, CO

Jackie (Kory) Newsom, Chubbuck ID

15 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren and 1 great great granddaughter. His brothers Wilfred Griggs and Tom (Linda) Griggs, sisters-in-law Karen Griggs and Alene Harrison and his Butterburrs morning coffee buddies.

 The family will receive friends Thursday February 24^, 2022 from 6-8 p.m. at Wilks Funeral Home, 211 W Chubbuck Rd, Chubbuck Idaho and from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the service on Friday.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday February 25, 2022 at Wilks Funeral Home.  Burial to follow at Restlawn Memorial Gardens in Pocatello, Idaho.