Cheney Griffin dies at 89

<p>R.A. "Cheney" Griffin, a former state legislator and chief of staff for his brother, Gov. Marvin Griffin, in the 1950s, has died of lung cancer.</p><p>He was 89 when he died at his Bainbridge home Wednesday.</p><p>During a 31-year political career, including four terms in the Legislature, Griffin fired as many as 2,000 state employees who opposed his brother and survived four indictments on corruption charges.</p><p>"He was pretty much a master at really getting away with things that somebody else would get persecuted for," said Ogden Doremus, a State Court judge and Sierra Club lobbyist.</p><p>The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Griffin was known for smoking black cigars in a 3-inch holder, and for throwing his weight around politically.</p><p>Doremus, a de facto adviser during the 1955-1959 administration of Gov. Griffin, described him as a likable extrovert who was deeply loyal to friends and "one of the most colorful people in my experience."</p><p>Survivors include his wife, Margaret Smith Knight Griffin of Bainbridge, and two stepsons, Oren "Pete" Knight of Havana, Fla., and Jack A. Knight of Lake Placid, Fla. The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866590)</p>

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