Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 7-31-20

Features
Pastor Follows His Wife In Death By 10 Days
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The popular pastor of an East Tampa church passed away on Sunday in a local hospital. He was 75 years old.
Rev. Jerome Griffin, Sr., passed just 10 days after his wife of 54 years, on Sun- day, July 26, 2020. Mrs. Mona Griffin passed on July 16, 2020. Both had been ill for a short period of time. She was funeralized on Fri- day, July 24, 2020.
One of the couple’s 3 sons, Jerome Griffin, de- scribed his father as “a true man of God, who loved chil-
dren.” He was a Tampa na- tive and graduated from Middleton High School, Class of 1963.
He entered the military after high school, serving in Vietnam as a member of the U. S. Army.
Rev. Griffin was the pastor of Evening Star Tab- ernacle M. B. Church, having served as pastor for more than 30 years. He preached his last sermon on Sunday, June 7, 2020. Two of his sons followed him into the ministry – Jerome and Stephen. The other son is Tyrome.
For more than 25 years,
REV. JEROME GRIFFIN, SR. 7-26-20
Rev. Griffin was a truck
MRS. MONICA GRIFFIN 7-16-20
driver and was the owner of
Griffin Trucking.
His love for children ex-
tended to the Tampa Eagles Football Organization, where he coached youngsters for several years.
In addition to the 3 sons, Rev. Griffin is survived by 8 grandchildren, 6 great- grandchildren and other family members, including his church family at Evening Star Tabernacle.
Funeral services have been entrusted to Aikens Fu- neral Home and will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2020, 11:30 a. m. at Northside M. B. Church (See Funeral No- tices Section)
COVID-19 Testing Hours Extended At Lee Davis Center
Lee Davis Resource Center is one of 3 cen- ters where testing times are being extended.
Lee Davis Community Resource Center, 3402 N. 22nd St., Tampa, is one of 3 Resource Centers where the hours will be extended. One of the centers will include weekend hours.
For the next 2 weeks, testing at Lee Davis and Plant City Resource Centers will expand appointments and hours. The expanded days are Mondays, Wednes- days and Thursdays. The Center in Ruskin will oper-
ate on Wednesdays, Thurs- days and Saturdays.
Since opening in April, Lee Davis, Plant City and SouthShore (Ruskin) have administered at least 30,000 tests. For the next few weeks, these sites should be able to administer 9,000 total tests per week, up from the 2,700 per week.
There are 8 free testing sites in Hillsborough County. However, appoint- ments are necessary. To make an appointment, call (888) 513-6321, 8 a. m. – 5 p. m., Monday through Fri- day. Or, visit HCFLGov.net/StaySafe.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020