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Griffiths kept citrus industry on its toes

The leader of a growers group, who had something to say on just about everything citrus, dies at age 91.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published June 15, 2006

James T. Griffiths invariably found his way to every conceivable citrus industry gathering, his cracked, weather-worn face and thin, slight frame as regular a feature as Florida's summer rains.

Cantankerous and not one to put on airs, the entomologist and citrus grower spoke his mind, often to the chagrin of those in power.

Mr. Griffiths, managing director of the growers group Citrus Growers Associates in Lakeland, died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday, his office said, bringing to a close the colorful life and career of a citrus-industry original and one of its best-known scientists. He was 91.

Mr. Griffiths often was the antithesis of gaudy despite his reputation for brandishing a sharp tongue and sharper wit.

An unassuming man, he would sit quietly at meetings, often for hours, before rising and unleashing a criticism or scientific comment on just about any subject that suited him, and many did.

He rarely missed a meeting of the Florida Citrus Commission and often countered commissioners' opinions.

Free as he was with his judgment, he was especially sought out by reporters. He returned calls and passionately fought for growers' rights, from water usage issues to the continued use of key pesticides.

He was one of the first in the industry to suggest canker could not be contained, a full year before the federal government declared it so.

"No question about it, he was one of our industry's originals," said Cody Estes, a Vero Beach grower and member of the commission. "He was more knowledgeable than just about anyone in the industry. He was cantankerous in a lovable way. We'll miss him."

Inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1998, Mr. Griffiths was born in Alta Loma, Texas, in 1914 and graduated from Rice University in Houston in 1937. Four years later, he earned a doctorate in entomology from Iowa State College.

He moved to Florida in 1946, working at a University of Florida citrus experiment station, later telling an interviewer, "I didn't hardly know an orange from a grapefruit."

He quickly learned.

His resume included work in just about every facet of Florida's citrus industry. He sold fertilizer, worked as the production manager of a grove, spent time as general manager of a juice processing plant and packinghouse, and worked at Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers' group, as director of special projects.

A former Florida Department of Citrus official once asked Griffiths what he did at Mutual.

In a 2004 story in the Lakeland Ledger, the official recalled Mr. Griffiths saying, "The thing I enjoy most in life is stirring up people in the Florida citrus industry, and I found someone to pay me to do it."

He became a grower and eventually formed his own growers' group, working until his dying day.

One of his forebears in Wales emigrated to America after slugging a priest with a sack of grain over a dispute about church taxes, the Ledger reported.

"The history Jim brought to the table was just phenomenal," said Doug Bournique, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League.

Next of kin information was unavailable on Wednesday. Mr. Griffiths will be cremated without a memorial service.

William R. Levesque can be reached at levesque@sptimes.com or 813 226-3436.

[Last modified June 15, 2006, 06:23:02]