Tag Archives: David Griffis

Lake Butler Community Celebrates The Life Of Marvin Pritchett

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By , ,   and on August 30th, 2013

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Pictures of Marvin Pritchett in the front of the First Christian Church where the celebration of his life took place on Friday afternoon.

The Lake Butler community mourned the death of Marvin Pritchett on Friday.  Pritchett was a life-long resident of the community and business leader who was shot and killed by former employee Hubert Allen Jr. this past weekend.

More than 1,000 people paid tribute to the life of Marvin Pritchett at the First Christian Church in Lake Butler. The main church was filled to capacity an hour before the ceremony began. Guests who did not get a seat in the main church were redirected to a second building and lawn area where the ceremony was streamed live.

 

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Thousands of flowers adorned the front and both sides of the First Christian Church in Lake Butler on Friday.

Thousands of flowers filled the church, including a red rose arrangement that completely draped the casket. Pictures from Mr. Pritchett’s life were projected onto the wall behind the casket as those in attendance waited for family members to arrive.

During the service many of Pritchett’s accomplishments and contributions were highlighted, including his support for Union County Schools, the University of Florida and First Christian Church.

 

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Sign on Lake Butler elementary school on Friday reads ‘Our prayers are with the community.’

The ceremony was led by pastor Art Peterson and included thoughts and anecdotes from Pritchett’s family. Jon Pritchett, son of Marvin Pritchett, shared the story of his father’s humble upbringing. Marvin Pritchett was orphaned at the age of 10 and raised by his grandmother.

“What made my dad so remarkable was not that he overcame such hardships, but rather that he never used his circumstances as an excuse,” said Jon Pritchett during his Eulogy.

 

 

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Pritchett Trucking vehicle waits to join in funeral procession following the service on Friday afternoon.

Marvin Pritchett founded Pritchett Trucking, Inc. in 1973, a business that expanded to employ hundreds of people in the Lake Butler Area.

Pastor Peterson brought a smile to everyone’s face when he said: “I don’t know if there will be any trucks in heaven’s highways, but if there is, that’s where we’ll find Marvin.”

 

 

 

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Flowers with the initials MHP representing Marvin H. Pritchett (1933-2013)

Pritchett left behind 13 grandchildren, seven who spoke at the service in remembrance of their “poppa”. One of his grandkids said “he was large in stature and even larger in life.”

It’s been nearly a week since Hubert Allen, 72, a former employee of Pritchett Trucking, went on the shooting spree that killed three and injured one before turning the gun on himself. Marvin Pritchett, 80, David Griffis, 44, and Rolando Gonzalez-Delgado, 28, were killed and Lewis Mabrey was injured in the shooting.

During the ceremony Pastor Peterson spoke about the tragedy calling it an act of evil, and asking community members to look at the good happening around them.

The Pritchett family has created a victims’ fund at TD Bank in Lake Butler in honor and support of the David Griffis, Rolando Gonzalez-Delgado, and Lewis Mabrey families.

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Click here to see a Storyboard Summary of the Memorial Service for Marvin Pritchett.

Lake Butler Trying to Pull Together ‘Real Tight’ In Wake Of Third Shooting Victim Death

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By   and on August 27th, 2013

A large crowd is expected at Pritchett's funeral service, which will be held 2 p.m. Friday at the First Christian Church in Lake Butler. Many businesses, including the courthouse, will be closed for a majority of the afternoon.
Amanda Jackson / WUFT News
A large crowd is expected at Pritchett’s funeral service, which will be held 2 p.m. Friday at the First Christian Church in Lake Butler. Many businesses, including the courthouse, will be closed for a majority of the afternoon.

Flags remain at half-staff outside many businesses around Lake Butler, where a community mourns the loss of a third victim from a deadly Saturday shooting spree.

Forty-four year old David Griffis was shot in the stomach and rushed to the Shands at UF Trauma Unit on Saturday. After undergoing numerous surgeries and remaining in critical condition for three days, Griffis died of his injuries early Tuesday morning. He was the fourth to die by Hubert Allen Jr.’s gun, authorities said, including Allen himself.

Allen, 72, a former employee of Pritchett Trucking Company had written the names of his four victims in what Union County Sheriff Jerry Whitehead described as a suicide note left at his residence. Although the note mentioned the names of his intended victims, the sheriff’s department said it still has not determined a motive.

Whitehead said all the guns used have been located. He said Allen purchased them legally.

Lake Butler residents laid flowers by the sign at the entrance of Pritchett Trucking on State Road 121, where all the victims were employed.

Shortly before WUFT was asked to leave the premises, reporters overheard a conversation between two co-workers.

When one was asked how she was holding up, the other said, “We’re keeping things going. That’s the way he would have wanted” (an apparent reference to the deceased owner of the company, Marvin Pritchett).

Whitehead said the community is really coming together during this difficult time.

“We pull together through our schools and our church, that’s what we are,” he said.

This town isn’t a stranger to tragedy. In 2006, a truck/bus crash left seven children dead and several more seriously injured.

“Learning how to grieve is just something you have to go through. It can’t be taught,” Whitehead said. “My father told me many, many years ago that in these situations you have to get up, put your boots on, tie them real tight and go to work.”

In Lake Butler, it seems almost everyone has a family connection. Coincidentally, Whitehead’s own mother passed away just two weeks ago. His mother was the sister of Pritchett’s widow.