Image

The middle child of what he often referred to as the second family, Floyd was born to Harry and Willa (Ryan) Griswould July 21, 1936, and passed from this life February 13, 2024, in Eads. He was born at the Grate House in Arlington as the ranch house was still under construction, and the floor was still dirt. The house was being built by Harry with the help of his three oldest children, Pathena, Harold, and Roy. Also helping by straightening the used nails was older sister, Betty.

Floyd often told stories about the booming metropolis that Arlington once was. The train through town brought supplies, families looking for a new life and cattle in and out of the stockyards. At one time, Arlington had hotels, a grocery store, gas stations, a hardware store, a blacksmith, and a boarding house where his mother worked, renting out rooms. Most importantly it had a three room schoolhouse.

Floyd attended the Arlington School house - which still stands and, for a time, was populated by the children of the construction workers passing through when the air base was being built after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Once the families moved on, Floyd was one of three students at his grade level. By sixth grade, he was in a class of his own. He would finish his school work and help the teacher with the children in lower grades. This continued through the eleventh grade, at which time he went to live with his sister, Betty, and her family in Ordway, where he would graduate from high school.

After graduating from high school, Floyd worked as a ranch hand for one of the neighbors as a cowboy. Floyd and his younger brother, Ray, had worn out many stick horses growing up, so it was only natural he would want to be a cowboy when he grew up. He continued this lifestyle while helping out at home until the droughts hit Colorado and made this a difficult life for farmers and ranchers. It was in 1956 when Floyd decided to enlist in the Air Force rather than wait for Uncle Sam to send him to the Army.

As a teenager, Floyd belonged to the 4-H dance group. There he met the girl he would later marry. As long as Floyd could walk without a cane, he would grab Phyllis, his dance partner of 62 years, and glide beautifully around the dance floor. Floyd returned from the service in May 1960 and picked up where he left off with his square dancing, and his little blond hair partner. After returning from a night out in Lamar with a friend, they went to a dance at the Legion Hall and spotted Phyllis across the dance floor. He told his friend, "I'm going to marry that girl" and marry they did.

In September 1961, Floyd and Phyllis married. To this union they welcomed Rhonda in 1962, and Greg in 1965. Floyd fell back into his life of being a ranch hand, a cowboy, and spent many miles of his life atop a horse. For entertainment, Floyd enjoyed hunting. Many men around Eads can tell you stories of their goose hunts with Floyd. The overnight digging of the pits and setting up of the decoys to the first shot of the morning being fired, he loved it all. There were also many deer and elk hunts with Greg, and turkey hunts at the Billington Ranch in Wetmore with Phyllis.

In 1974, Floyd made his first run for County Sheriff. He was unsuccessful, but refused to be discouraged by his defeat. He would bide his time for a couple of years and again hit the campaign trail. In 1978, he was elected as Sheriff of Kiowa County. To some, he was the best Sheriff the county had seen, but after serving for 4 years, the election of 1982 saw him once again face defeat. Floyd continued serving in law enforcement until his retirement at age 65. He served as a deputy in Rio Grande County, and an officer for the Colorado Department of Corrections in Crowley and Limon.

After retirement, Floyd and Phyllis packed up and flew (drove heavily loaded) south. They began their lives as snowbirds, spending the winter months in Kearny, Arizona, and their summer months wherever their motorhome came to rest, usually in Colorado, but last year in Oklahoma.

Floyd is preceded in death by parents, Harry and Willa; brothers, Harold, Roy, and Ray; sisters, Pathena and Betty; sister-in-law, Sigrid; brothers-in-law, Joseph Knight, Floyd Watts, and Gene Watts; and grandson, Kyle Davis.

Floyd is survived by wife, Phyllis; children, Rhonda (Kent) of Kirk, and Greg (Liza) of Gore, Oklahoma; sister-in-law, Virgyln Griswould; grandchildren, Amanda (Ryan) Knouse, Kord (Megan) Davis, Jessica Bullock, and Brad (Brooke) Bullock; great grandchildren, Cody and Ashley Knouse, Kylie and Keanan Davis, Mikayla and Kinsley Reijgers, and Noah and Sofia Bullock; and many (favorite) nieces and nephews.

Floyd was laid to rest in “cowboy style” in the Arlington Cemetery.  A time to reflect, remember and celebrate Floyd’s life is being planned for this summer.

Arrangements were under the direction of Brown Funeral Home.