Durango resident Phil Leroy Griego died of liver cancer July 23. He was 58 years old. A rosary was held on Tuesday, July 29, at Hood Mortuary Chapel in Durango. Mass of Christian Burial was held Wednesday, July 30, at St. Columba Catholic Church. Burial was at Greenmount Cemetery.
Griego was born to Feliciano Griego (pre-deceased) and E. Dora (Martinez) Griego on Nov. 26, 1955, in Henderson, Nev. He grew up in Pagosa Springs and Denver.
Throughout Griego’s years, his craftsmanship and work ethic spoke volumes. Griego was a handyman. No matter what needed to be fixed, Phil would find a way to fix just about anything and everything.
On May 26, 1979, Griego began the next chapter of his life with his marriage to Helen Montour. The love and memories they created together solidified a truly everlasting bond. Helen is and will always be the keeper of Phil’s heart. The couple together raised four sons. Griego’s happiness came from watching his boys grow into the men they are today. He made sure “family first” was always the highest priority. Griego never missed a sporting event and was always his sons’ No. 1 fan. Sharing in their various accomplishments, academically, athletically and personally, gave Griego a joy that only a proud father like him will understand.
Watching his sons grow into fathers themselves brought a joy to Phil that warmed his heart beyond words. Griego loved his four grandboys and his only granddaughter. When around his grandchildren, his face would light up like the sky on the Fourth of July. Anything his grandchildren wanted, he made sure he got it for them. Together with his beloved wife, they were the light of his life and his foundation of happiness.
Griego is survived by his wife of 35 years of marriage, Helen Griego, of Durango; his children, Phillip and Becky Griego, of Farmington, N.M., Jonathan and Amy Griego, of Durango, and Orlando Griego and Katherine Sumrall, of Durango; his grandchildren, Trel, Zander, Sataurus, Alyza and Jasia.
He was preceded in death by a son, Anthony Griego, and his father, Feliciano Griego.
