Mountain Greene

THOMASTON - Former Upson County Sheriff and retired Georgia State Patrol Captain Mountain A. Greene died at his home on Thursday, October 29, 2015 at the age of 82.

Mountain Greene was born on March 12, 1933 in Lamar County to the late Wiley E. Greene and Grace Burnette Greene. There were eight children born to his parents and Mountain was number four. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by three brothers, Wiley Eugene Greene, Jr., William Cicero Greene, and McKinley Burnette Greene, and one sister, Evangeline Himmel Tripplet.

Greene joined the U. S. Navy in 1951 and served four years during the Korean crisis. After leaving the Navy, Greene returned to his hometown of Barnesville and attended Gordon Military College for two years. He then went to work for the REA in Barnesville as a lineman for two years. In 1957 he began his career in law enforcement by joining the Georgia State Patrol. He served 33 years on the Patrol until his retirement. In 1991 Greene was elected Sheriff of Upson County and served for 9 ½ years, retiring in 2000. Greene will be remembered for his fairness and treating everyone equally, no matter how rich or poor they were. He always had a special place in his heart for people that struggled or had a hard time in life.

Greene always had a strong belief in God, to which he gave credit to his mother. She instilled in him the importance of living his life by the Bible, honoring and fearing the Lord, and always being honest and having integrity. Greene loved the Lord and his family. His death is a great loss to this family because he was greatly loved, respected, and was their hero and leader. He was a member of New Hope Baptist Church.

Greene is survived by his wife of 27 years, Wilma Lee Greene of Thomaston; his son, Lance Colton Greene (Dana) of Thomaston; three daughters, April Greene Lowry (Tom) of N. Augusta, SC, Tina Greene Coker (Sammy) of Thomaston, and Yodie Greene Ellerbee (Barry) of Thomaston; and two step sons, Brian Dennis Wheeless (Kayla) of Thomaston, and Scott Allen Wheeless (April) of Molena. He was blessed with 12 grandchildren, Sam Coker, Jr., Seth Mountain Coker (MaryAnn), Jared Potter, Rebekah Lowry, Ashley (Chris) Moore, Will Ellerbee, Philip Lowry, Wes Ellerbee, Mountain Asher Greene, Ethan Wheeless, Colton Greene, and Levi Wheeless. He has three great grandchildren, Harper Potter, Knox Mountain Coker and Hudson Alexander Moore. He is also survived by one brother, Johnny Greene (Linda) of Nashville, TN, and two sisters, Grace Molly Harp of Thomaston and Mary Anne Wilson (Tyrrell) of Pensacola, FL.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 11 a.m., at Mountain View Baptist Church. Dr. Rex King and Rev. Ryan Christopher officiated and burial followed in South View Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers were Upson County Sheriff's Department Captain Stoney Spier, Capt. Ralph Searcy, Retired Capt. Nathan McLaughlin, Captain Toby Hardeman, Sgt. Robert Barfield, and Georgia State Patrol Captain Dennis Dixon, Jr., Sergeant First Class Lawrence Harrell, and Sergeant First Class Brandon Dawson. Honorary pallbearers were grandsons Sam Coker, Jr., Seth Mountain Coker, Jared Potter, Will Ellerbee, Philip Lowry, Wes Ellerbee, Mountain Asher Greene, Ethan Wheeless and Colton Greene. All active and retired law enforcement officers attending also served as honorary pallbearers.

Fletcher-Day Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at www.fletcherdayfuneralhome.com