Our Legacy

Plugenia Peters and her fellow members of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs (above, left). Keith and Valerie Davis on their wedding day (below).

With southern roots, our privately owned, family run business was established in New York City during the 1930s by Plugenia Griffin. Although known to many as "Mother," she preferred to be called "Jean." With no more than a Primary School education, Jean left her South Carolina home during the Great Migration, and she headed for New York City. Driven to have something of her own, Jean worked hard and save all she could, and she eventually joined the funeral business as a licensed funeral director. That same determination soon afforded her the opportunity to purchase a building on Seventh Avenue in Harlem that would house the Griffin Funeral Home.

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The younger Jean made her way through the hustle and bustle of a Harlem that was thriving, and she joined the Abyssinian Baptist Church -- a beacon of progress and development in the community. She also joined organizations like the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. (NANBPWC), with whom she is pictured to the left, and the Prince Hall Eureka Grand Chapter, Order of Eastern Stars, Golden Gate Chapter #40. Jean eventually met and married John R. Peters, and Griffin Funeral Home was henceforth known as the Griffin-Peters Funeral Home. Jean had one child by her first husband, Olin Griffin, Evelyn Griffin, a Juilliard-trained concert pianist and medical professional trained in Switzerland. Evelyn had one child, Keith Davis, the current owner and manager of Griffin-Peters Funeral Home. Plugenia Peters died in November of 2001, over 100 years young, still as fearless and involved in the business as she dared to be.



Keith and his wife of thirty years, Valerie, have three adult children and one grandchild. Their children attended UNC-Chapel Hill, Spelman College and Norfolk State University; their son just finished five years of active duty as a U.S. Marine, and their youngest daughter graduated Duke University School of Medicine and is a resident physician here in the city of New York. They have taken pride in successfully maintaining the daily affairs of Griffin-Peters since Jean's death in 2001. Both Keith and Valerie have continued to service the diverse population represented in Harlem and the greater metropolitan area of New York. Under Keith and Valerie's guidance, Griffin-Peters is still a beacon of excellent service in the funeral industry that is standing the test of time.

Seminar on Pre-Planning

Griffin-Peters will be holding educational classes on how to navigate the funeral system and on Pre-Planning. We will explain why it is an option for families and individuals that we feel is greatly undervalued and underused in our community. Date/Time TBD, please check back with us soon!

Join the Griffin-Peters AIDS Walk Team!

Griffin-Peters is recruiting members and fundraising for its AIDS Walk Team, 'GP Cares.' AIDS Walk NYC is on Sunday May 19th this year, and we will be out in full support of AIDS Walk's efforts to fund research and provide support for those living with HIV/AIDS. We thoroughly enjoyed ourContact us or visit the AIDS Walk site for more information on how to get involved!