Photos: Tucson folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith
For several decades, "Big Jim" Griffith has devoted his life to documenting and championing the culture connections and heritage of Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. He holds three degrees from the University of Arizona, including a PhD in cultural anthropology and art history. In 1974, he co-founded the immensely popular annual event, "Tucson Meet Yourself." He's the author of several books on Arizona and Mexican cultural history and folk heritage.
He was named a 2011 National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jim Griffith, 1984
"Big Jim" Griffith, center, joins with Dean Armstrong and the Arizona Dance Hands at a fiddlers contest at Armory Park, Tucson, on Feb. 27, 1984.
Jim Griffith, 1974
Anthropologist and folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith plays banjo on the front porch of his home on Mission Road southwest of Tucson in 1974.
Jim Griffith, 1982
Anthropologist and folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith in his office in 1982.
Jim Griffith, 1984
Jim Griffith directs volunteers during a preparation meeting for the annual "Tucson Meet Yourself" in 1984. Griffith was a key founder of the event.
Jim Griffith, 1984
Jim Griffith directs volunteers during a preparation meeting for the annual "Tucson Meet Yourself" in 1984. Griffith was a key founder of the event.
Folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith, Tucson
Folklorist Jim Griffith in front of San Xavier Mission del Bac Mission in 2011, the year he was honored by the National Endowment for teh Arts.
Folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith, Tucson
Jim Griffith, left, and Greg Morton play during a meeting of the Cultural Exchange Council of Tucson in 2005.
Folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith, Tucson
Jim Griffith at his home in 2019, after publication of his new book, "Saints, Statues and Stories. A Folklorists looks at the Religious Art of Sonora."
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
Most commonly known as “Big Jim,” word of Griffith's death spread quickly on social media Saturday night.
James S. "Big Jim" Griffith lived such a big life defining Tucson's senses of place and self that it's hard to imagine this special place without him, as many admirers have been saying since his death Saturday at age 86.
In 2015, the late James S. "Big Jim" Griffith shared stories, artifacts, and songs of the Southwest in the Star's "Our Storied Desert Land" vi…