NORWAY – Madeline B. Griffith, 105 years and 5 months of age, passed away Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 at the Norway Center for Health and Rehabilitation, where she had resided for the last three years.

Madeline was born in Portland on March 9, 1918, to John M. and Kathleen S. MacDonald. She attended school in Portland and graduated from Deering High School in 1936. She attended what was then Gorham Normal School and obtained a teaching certificate after which she taught in Westbrook and Portland.

In 1942, she joined the Waves and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fla. Upon release from the service in 1945, she went back to Gorham and obtained her bachelor’s degree. Madeline returned to teaching in Portland, first at Peary school and then at Longfellow. In 1956, she transferred to South Portland where she taught 1st grade at Henley and Frank I. Brown, where she stayed until she retired in 1979.

She married Claude H. Griffith on June 24, 1949, and they settled in South Portland, first on Scamman Street and then Glendale Road, where she lived for 41 years. Her husband, Claude, passed away in 1973.

In 2000, at the age of 82, she moved to The Woods at Canco in Portland where she lived on her own until just before turning 102, when her memory loss made it impossible for her to remain on her own.

Madeline was a life-long member of Second Parish Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Portland. She was active in the church, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School and as a member of the Ivy Club. She was also a long-time member of the National Education Association, the Maine Teacher’s Association, and the Maine Association of Retirees, among other organizations.

She is survived by two sons, John and his wife Shelley of Norway, and Barry of Portland; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, Courtney Del Pozo, her husband, Andres, and son Zachary Muller of Kingston, N.H.; Daniel, his wife Brandi, sons William and Austin, and daughter, Josette, of Otisfield; Ian, his wife Aimee, and daughters Molly and Grace, of Auburn; Shane and his wife Whitney, and daughter, Nora Madeline of Durham; and Edith Bucknell of Portland. She is also survived by her cousins in Prince Edward Island; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff at Norway Center for Health and Rehabilitation for the excellent care they gave to Madeline during her final years, and to the staff of Constellation Hospice for their attentive care during these last several months.

At Madeline’s request, there will be no funeral. A graveside service will be held at the family’s discretion.

Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, 45 Main St., South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with her family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com.

Donations in her memory can be sent to the

Second Parish Orthodox Presbyterian Church,

368 Gorham Rd.,

Scarborough, ME 04074 or

a charity of your choice.