Jon Alan Griswold, 79, of The Woodlands, TX passed away on October 29th, 2023 after a battle with cancer. He was born on December 5, 1943 in Cerro Gordo, Illinois. His parents were Roy and Virginia Griswold.

Jon graduated from Southern Illinois University (SIU) with a bachelor's degree in economics. He then served in the Air Force as a Staff Sargeant. After serving, he returned to SIU for a Master of Business Administration. He had a long career in commodities management, including significant times with both Central Soya and Growmark. Following this, he turned his focus to improving the national infrastructure for renewable energy. This began with the founding of Griswold Energy Partners with his son, Matt, and continued to the formation of Blendstar, which became a significant independent distributor of ethanol in the Southeast. Following the sale of Blendstar, Jon turned to focus on the growth and distribution of the perennial grass, Miscanthus. He and Matt founded another company, Aloterra, and purchased an old Amish farm near Conneaut, Ohio to research how to grow, maintain and use Miscanthus for everything from absorbing oil fracking waste to making everyday paper plates. Jon truly enjoyed his time on the beautiful farm, which reminded him of the time spent in summers growing up on his aunt and uncle's farm near Columbia, Missouri. He made good friends in the local Amish community, loved driving his tractors and time sitting on the porch looking at the wonderful pond. In the last few years, he focused on even more advanced uses for Miscanthus, including the use of its long cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in everything from cement and plastics to paint coatings and beyond. In 2019 his work on CNCs with Argonne National Laboratory was honored at the White House as one of the 100 Most Technologically Significant New Products of the Year in Process/Prototyping. He had a desire for making big moves to combat climate change and used his ingenuity, foresight, and drive to do whatever he could to make the world better for the coming generations.

Jon was an inspirational and loving husband and father. He met his wife Margaret in Decatur Illinois in 1964 and they were married in 1967. They spent time living in Carbondale IL, Lincoln IL, Topeka KS, Desoto IL, Fort Wayne IN, Little Rock AR and Mahomet IL. They then moved back to Decatur IL to restore the house that Margaret's dad had built in 1947. In 1998 they moved to The Woodlands, TX and have been there ever since (with the exceptions of summers on the farm in Ohio.) They had their first son, Mark, in 1971 in Carbondale and their second son, Matt, in 1973 in Decatur. Mark married his wife, Sherry, in 1998 and had their only son, Gabriel, in 2002.  Matt married his wife Laura in 1999 and they have three children, Madelynne (2003), Luke (2007) and Mia (2013). He is survived by all of his immediate family and siblings Nancy Ryder, Peggy Dinius, Tom Griswold, Bill Griswold and his best canine friend, Max, who really misses their long walks together.

The family wishes to thank all of the healthcare professionals who took care of Jon through this incredibly difficult time.

A memorial service will be held at Klein Funeral Home in Magnolia, TX on November 4th at 2PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (jdrf.org) or the Lord of Life Church, 3801 South Panther Creek Dr, The Woodlands, TX, 77381.