Avid Outdoorsman Takes Pryor Nursing Home Residents Fishing at Claremore Lake

Some nursing home residents from Pryor got an early start to the holiday weekend on Friday with a trip to Claremore Lake to go fishing. 

It was all because of a man whose passion for the outdoors, and caring for the elderly, has merged into a new mission. 

“They can’t just leave and get in the truck and go to the lake,” Jonny Griffin said. 

It wasn't long after getting situated on a fishing dock at Claremore Lake, that a group of seven residents from Colonial Terrace saw some action, with Griffin by their side, ready to help however he could. He works as the Marketing Director for Hometown Hospice and Outreach Home Health, both owned by Transitions Health Services.  

Griffin also loves to fish. 

“It means the world to me because going back a little bit, my grandpa is what brought me up in the outdoors,” Griffin said. 

His grandpa, Wayne, spent time in nursing homes and died in 2017. 

“Seeing this – that’s somebody’s grandma. That’s somebody’s grandpa over there and it just. I live for it. I love it,” Griffin said. 

JoAnn Robbins, one of the residents at Colonial Terrace, loves it too. 

She caught the first fish of the day -- and the second. 

Griffin has fishing plans for nursing home residents that reach far beyond Memorial Day weekend. Up next is a nursing home in Fort Gibson; he said he’ll take some of their residents fishing in the next couple of weeks.  

“As long as I’m able to do it, I plan on doing it for the next years and years to come,” Griffin said. 

He's doing it for people like Nicky Hair, another resident, who used to fish all the time with his brother, and hasn't been since last year. 

“Before I had my stroke,” Hair said. 

With the sun shining down and not a cloud in the sky, it was a perfect day to prove, that fishing is for everyone. 

“It’s a chance to reflect about how much I’ve been blessed,” Hair said.