Martha Terura Griffin Layton, 96, died Friday, August 12, 2022, at the Rainey Hospice House, after a wonderful life in Anderson.
She was a teacher to generations of students at McCants Junior High and Southwood Middle School, a devoted wife to Robert Dwight Layton (1928-2017), a mother of five children, and a grandmother of five.
Born September 8, 1925, on Evans Street in Anderson, she was the daughter of Thomas Jackson Griffin (1885-1952) and Macie Sherard Griffin (1887-1973). She and Dwight were married December 26, 1953, at First Baptist Church, and made their home on Smithmore Street in Anderson.
They are survived by son, Tommy Layton (Mary) of Boone, North Carolina; daughter, Mary Lou Gambrell (Greg) of Anderson; son, David Layton (Lindy) of Gaithersburg, Maryland; daughter, Martha Ann Layton of Anderson; and son, John Layton (Alberto) of Flat Rock, North Carolina; Her grandchildren, are Marta Layton of New York City, Hall Layton (Amber) of Albemarle, North Carolina, Katie Layton of Charlotte, North Carolina, Marisa Layton of Baltimore, Maryland, and Nika Layton of Clarksburg, Maryland; Her brother, was Claude Thomas Griffin (1924-1996) of Belton.
She graduated from Girls High School in 1942 and from Winthrop College in 1947. She taught in Gastonia and Orangeburg before returning to Anderson.
She founded the Operation Christmas Child collection center at Concord Baptist Church (where she was a member for more than 50 years) and helped to send Christmas gift boxes to more than 100,000 children around the world.
Martha was a diligent genealogist who researched and documented her family history to its roots in Ireland and Scotland. She was named for her grandmothers, Martha Pennell Griffin (1849-1924) and Terura Claudia Beaty Sherard (1861-1912). She was proud of her ancestors, including Pierce Butler Griffin (1847-1925) and Jackson Griffin (1819-1861) who served in the Civil War, Benjamin Franklin Griffin in the War of 1812, and Col. William Bratton (1740-1815) and David Sadler (1762-1848) in the American Revolution.
A funeral service was held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, August 15, 2022, in the Tribute Room of The Standard Cremation & Funeral Center, 1621 Pearman Dairy Road, Anderson, South Carolina, 29625.
The family will receive friends prior to the service from 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m., in the Maple Room at The Standard.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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