MONMOUTH – Arthur M. Griffiths, 76, died at his home in Monmouth, Sunday, Jan. 30, following a long illness.

He was born Dec. 21, 1928, in Waterville, the son of the Rev. Thomas M. and Esther F. (George) Griffiths. He was educated in the Waterville schools, and graduated from Bates College in 1950 with a B.A. in history and government.

In 1948, he was married to Lois M. Spofford in South China. His career took many different paths. He was headmaster at Limington Academy, proprietor of a feed store in Newport, and a broadcaster at radio and television stations in Waterville and Lewiston. He headed the News Bureau at Bates College in Lewiston, from 1955 to 1974. He left Bates to pursue his interest in printing and publications at Twin City Printery in Lewiston, where he worked from 1974 to 1990. In 1965, he founded The Monmouth Press, a typesetting and publishing company which continues to the present day.

After settling in Monmouth in 1958, his service to the town was extensive. He served on the school committee, planning board, budget committee, and appeals board. He was elected moderator for special town meetings, was Civil Defense director for Monmouth, and represented the town on the board of directors for the Southern Kennebec Valley Regional Planning Commission. He took a special interest in Harry Hayman Cochrane, the architect of Cumston Hall. He also served as a Cumston Hall trustee and chaired the Cumston Hall Grant Steering Committee, which raised funds for the recent renovations of the hall. He wrote his college thesis on Cochrane and was working on a full-length biography of him at the time of his death.

A gifted public speaker and accomplished parliamentarian, he enjoyed presiding over meetings of the Cochnewagan Agricultural Association, the Arnold Expedition Historical Society, the Maine Old Cemetery Association, and the Monmouth Historical Society. He also served on the board of trustees of the Maine Genealogical Society. He and his wife, Lois, made several trips to England, Scotland, and Wales on genealogical and historical quests. His publications include collaborations with his father on “Major General Henry Knox, the Last Heirs to Montpelier,” 1965, “A Pictorial History of Maine,” 1970, and his own book, “A Centennial History of Cumston Hall,” 2000. He was Webmaster for Rootsweb genealogical sites for Monmouth, Hebron, and South Paris.

He was a 32nd degree Mason, a 50-year member, and Past Master of Rabboni Lodge 150 in Lewiston. He was editor of The Maine Mason, and president of the Androscoggin Valley Square and Compass Club for many years. He was a Sea Scout as a youth, and taught sailing first at summer camp and later to his children aboard his Nova Scotia-built schooner, Antares. Other interests were woodworking, photography, and computers.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Lois M. Griffiths, of Monmouth; four children, Thomas A. Griffiths and his wife, Margaret, of Bloomington, Ill., John H. Griffiths and his wife, Anne, of Pittsford, N.Y., Linda G. Johnston and her husband, Terry, of Monmouth, and Carol S. Griffiths of Lewiston; four grandchildren, Jennifer S. Griffiths of Durham, N.C., Anne E. Griffiths of Berkeley, Calif., and Christopher S. and Matthew C. Griffiths of Pittsford, N.Y.