Witness Post: Stephen L. Griffith
About five times a year I had the great good fortune of hearing Steve Griffith’s voice in the late afternoon emanating from a classroom. He would be with members of his Con Team – Unit 1, talking about controversial court cases or legal philosophy. I always stuck my head into the room and saw students hanging on to his every word.
I knew I was interrupting the discussion, but blurted out anyway: “Do you realize that you are in the presence of greatness? Mr. Griffith is a brilliant lawyer and protector of the laws that define this country!”
And Steve would smile and say, “Thank you, Mr. Hooper. I appreciate you too…. NOW, back to John Locke and the Constitution!”
What a treasure for Lincoln students and teachers to have known Steve, when we had the chance.
Stephen Loyal Griffith Obituary
Steve Griffith, of Portland, Oregon, passed away on Feb. 12, 2026. He died as the result of a climbing accident at the high camp of Chimborazo in Ecuador, pursuing a lifelong passion of mountaineering. You might ask why a guy in his 80s would be climbing mountains in South America. Steve would reply, “Because I can!” And then he would add:“It’s also the highest mountain in Ecuador and the 39th-highest peak in the entire Andes. The summit is the farthest point on Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center due to its location along the planet’s equatorial bulge. Chimborazo’s height from sea level is 6,263 m (20,548 ft).” All ways the Boy Scout, always the teacher. He died doing what he loved.
Griffith Beginnings in Washington, DC
Steve L. Griffith was born December 9, 1945, in Washington, DC. He was the youngest of five children born to Ernest and Margaret Griffith. Steve attended Sidwell Friends School, a PK-12, co-educational Quaker day school in Washington, DC, graduating in 1963. He grew up playing soccer, participating in family music nights on the piano, and hiking with his father summiting mountains around the east coast and abroad.
He attended Harvard University (BA 1967) and notwithstanding a deep interest in all disciplines, he eventually settled on International Studies. During his time in high school and college, he continued cultivating his musical interests, singing in the Harvard Glee club and organizing a world concert tour (1967). Aside from music, Steve was a committed member of the soccer and crew teams. After undergraduate studies he pursued a graduate degree in philosophy at the University of Oxford (M. 1969). The Griffith family had lived in Oxford, England, when he was a 5 year old, so that provided a return to the place of his early memories.
Steve served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer teaching high school students in Liberia (West Africa) for two and a half years (1970-72), where his days were fully occupied and he “couldn’t have been happier.” Those years proved formative – learning that “if you have enough means to do the things that made you happy, you’re a wealthy person,” and sparking a commitment to nurturing young people for the rest of his life.
After working as a staffer in DC for the EPA’s early years (1972-74), Steve went on to a career in law. He switched coasts and attended Stanford University Law School (JD 1977). He moved from Palo Alto to Portland, Oregon, where he clerked for the Hon. James Burns, US District Court (1977-78), before joining the law firm of Stoel Rives as an estates and trust lawyer (1979-2015). Steve met and married Christine Dickey (August 16, 1981), when both were associates at the firm of Stoel Rives, LLP.
During their life together in Portland, Steve delighted in running with Chris on trails and roads in the Willamette Valley, coaching his children’s soccer teams, teaching Sunday School at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, singing in the church choir, harmonizing with the Portland Opera Chorus (1978-1984), and sharing his love of mountains and commitment to conservation with his kids.
Steve was also able to return to Oxford, this time as a father, and spent a year there with the family while on sabbatical from Stoel Rives. During breaks from the children’s school year, Steve took the family on month-long car-camping adventures around Europe – designing itineraries planned to the hour to make the most of the experience.
Steve spent 37 years as a general litigation attorney, with an emphasis in estates and trusts, probate, schools, and education. His busy career included serving as counsel to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee (1981) and writing the commentary for the Evidence Code, serving on the Board of Bar Examiners, being recognized by Super Lawyers® as a top-rated attorney (2006), acting as a column writer for the Bulletin, and ultimately receiving the Public Service Award in 2014 while being a member of the Oregon State Bar for almost 50 years (1977-2026).
Steve loved to be active and was an avid hiker and mountain climber. He completed much of the Pacific CrestTrail over his lifetime and summited mountains on all 7 continents. “I think it’s a beautiful thing to be up on the side of a mountain, and look around and ask, ‘how did I deserve this?'” He also loved biking and enjoyed touring around Oregon with friends, even completing a cross-country ride at 55. His enthusiasm for running and inclination to say “YES” resulted in the participation in various distance races over the years; he most recently ran on a family team in the Hood to Coast relay at the youthful age of 77.
Steve believed deeply in public service and civic leadership, devoting time to causes he loved. He served on the boards of Metro Crisis Intervention Service, City Club of Portland, The Wilderness Society, FACES Foundation, and Chanticleer, and founded the Portland Youth Choral Festival.
He was deeply passionate about youth development and dedicated to mentoring, teaching, and supporting students. He served on the Portland School Board (two terms, chairperson four times – 1987-1995).
Steve Griffith found a true and lasting home for his energy blending his knowledge of the law with his commitment to young people in his 25+ year tenure coaching the Lincoln High School Constitution team in the “We the People” competition. His ability to bring constitutional law alive for young people impacted hundreds of students over those decades and saw 10 state and 4 national championships during his tenure. Not only did he thoroughly enjoy time spent with the team, but he saw this work as his “roots being turned over and passed over to another generation of students.”
During these decades Steve also coached the connstitution teams at De LaSalle North Catholic High School (2013-17) and he helped found several organizations serving youth or run by youth including For Our Children’s Future, Mission: Citizen, and Portland Supreme Court Project.
After retiring from Stoel Rives, Steve’s commitment to international education became apparent once again. On a visit to Liberia in 2015, Steve and Chris were inspired to start a preschool in Gbarnga (the same town where Steve served in the Peace Corps). The Garden School opened in 2018 and Steve hoped to build an endowment for the school. He also spent a year as a visiting professor at the Royal Thimphu College, Thimphu, Bhutan and a visiting lecturer at the Jigme Singye Wangchuk School of Law, Thaba, Bhutan (2017-18).
Steve was recognized for his achievements. He received the Metropolitan Teacher of the Month award, Chartwell Society Teacher of the Year award, and the Sidwell Friends Distinguished Alumni Award (2023). A video was made for the Sidwell award chronicling Steve’s life, accomplishments and reflections on life (available on YouTube: Steve Griffith ’63, Sidwell Friends). An optimist at heart, Steve shared: “I just enjoy working with young people. I like to show them how the world works, how interesting it is, how many opportunities there are for them to make a difference, and how much potential they have.” Steve was a friend to all and had a true appreciation for the value of each individual – a reflection of his Quaker roots. His legacy is felt by many, and his leadership, compassion and enthusiasm for life will be missed.
When he retired, his advice was simple: “Be a human being, always, lucky to have lived in this place, in this time, with these people.”
Steve is survived by his wife, Christine Dickey; son, David Griffith; and daughters, Meg Belais, and Jade Dickey-Griffith; his brother, Lawrence Griffith; and four beloved grandchildren.
A Memorial Celebration will be held Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 2 p.m., at the Lincoln High School theater auditorium, 1750 SW Salmon St, Portland, Ore. It will also be live-streamed. Please reach out to Chris at christine.l.dickey@gmail.com for details. Memorials are suggested to The Garden School – Liberia to help fulfil his dream of building an endowment for the school. (http://www.thegardenschoolliberia.org)
Published by The Oregonian Apr. 10, 2026. Lightly edited by Hooper June 7, 2026.
Henry E. Hooper 