Ilona Ada Griffin

December 19, 1939 – June 27, 2020Ilona Ada Griffin, 80, passed away peacefully at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2020 with her daughter, Betty, by her side. She listened to her favorite song “Silent Night” (the piano version) and Stille Nacht-choir, as she passed.
She was born on December 19, 1939 in Danzig, Germany to the late Johannes and Ella (Schlicht) Cieslik. She married Johannes Georg “Hans” Flockenhagen in April of 1961 but they later divorced and Hans moved back to Germany. Hans preceded her in death in May of 2015. They had 4 daughters: Gabriele, Gisela, Betty, and Petra. She married Francis “Frank” Griffin in September of 1986, and Frank preceded her in death in May of 1999.
Left to cherish her memory are her four daughters, Ursula “Betty” (Larry) Tobolski of South Bend, Gabriele Tobolski of South Bend, Petra DeFreeuw of Mishawaka, and Gisela (Greg) Coryn of Elkhart; her four siblings, (her sister) Sylvia Burkholder of Glendale, AZ, (and her 3 brothers): Armin, Stephen (Kathy) and Norbert (Yvonne) Cieslik, all of Munich, Germany; 13 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Ilona was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She loved tending to her rose gardens and taking cross country trips with her husband, Frank, in their RV Camper every year. In 2006, she and her sister, Sylvia, took a trip to Munich, Germany, to visit her brothers, which she truly enjoyed seeing her family.
The family would like to give a special thanks to the wonderful nurses and staff at East Lake Nursing and Rehab in Elkhart, and to Harbor Light Hospice, for the love and support they showed to mom for the past 3 1/2 years.
Per Ilona’s wishes, cremation will take place and no services at this time.
No services are being held at this time.