Individual Details
Matril Rachael Greer
(19 Nov 1924 - 21 Mar 2003)
My own dear Mother, Nana to my children, she was the best always. Mother was born in Easley at the home of her grandparents (Mr. Charles L. & Mrs. Lydia Rogers Thomas) to Cora Lee Thomas Gilstrap GREER and Wm. Elkanah Marchbanks GREER.
Mother cherished her entire family, and left many friends whom she cherished also. Her siblings included: Joe Glenn Greer, Sr. and William Curtis Greer, half-brothers: L. A. Gilstrap, Fred Lester Gilstrap and Charles Winfred Gilstrap, William Loyd Greer, Roy Greer, Delvin Greer, and half-sisters: Clemence Greer Moore, Gladys Greer Brown, Beatrice Greer Smith, and Barbara Greer.
Mother was pre-deceased by a granddaughter, Mary Rachael Pringle, and a special niece, Barbara Gilstrap Whitlock. In addition to her immediate family, (at the current time (2010)), only her brother, Joe G. Greer, Sr. and his wife, Betty Hayes Greer, are living.
Matril Rachael Greer graduated high school at Greenville High School and received her nurse's training at Greenville Hospital School of Nursing. Besides being a wonderful nurse to her patients, she took care of her mother, her husband, and all the rest of her and her husband's families.
There was never anything that I or my children needed that she didn't make sure we had. Whether it was a costume for a school play, a Batman cape, a dose of "calm" before a special event, she was there and knew what we needed - often before we knew. Mother loved me unfailingly, but I never realized how much until I watched her with my children! She worked tirelessly for others, often making clothes for abused women in shelters. She read her Bible for long hours and continued to read the Bible, marking passages and writing her thoughts during her last horrendous days of suffering. Mother grew up at Geer Memorial Baptist Church, and in her fifties, she was confirmed as an Episcopalian and was an active communicant at St. Michael's Episopal, Easley, for more than twenty years. She was one of the first female vestry members and the head of the Altar Guild. She was also a member of St. Barnabas Guild for many years.
Thank you, God, that she no longer suffers! She was a remarkable woman and always my hero. My mind is incapable of expressing my admiration and love for her. I only wish I could be more like her; I am just proud to be her only child....proud that my children all love her so much, and sad that my grandchildren can only hear the great stories about their Nana, Matril Rachael Greer Miller.
Parents:
W E Greer (1879 - 1963)
Cora Lee Thomas Gilstrap Greer (1891 - 1961)
Spouse: Cody Morris Miller (1922 - 2013)*
Siblings:
Clemence Greer Moore (1900 - 1992)**
Delvin Greer (1905 - 1916)**
William Loyd Greer (1907 - 1998)**
Lester Arden Gilstrap (1912 - 1994)**
Roy Lee Greer (1915 - 1997)**
Gladys Geraldine Greer Brown (1918 - 2000)**
Fred Lester Gilstrap (1919 - 1959)**
Matril Rachael Greer Miller (1924 - 2003)
Joseph Glenn Greer (1930 - 2012)*
Mother cherished her entire family, and left many friends whom she cherished also. Her siblings included: Joe Glenn Greer, Sr. and William Curtis Greer, half-brothers: L. A. Gilstrap, Fred Lester Gilstrap and Charles Winfred Gilstrap, William Loyd Greer, Roy Greer, Delvin Greer, and half-sisters: Clemence Greer Moore, Gladys Greer Brown, Beatrice Greer Smith, and Barbara Greer.
Mother was pre-deceased by a granddaughter, Mary Rachael Pringle, and a special niece, Barbara Gilstrap Whitlock. In addition to her immediate family, (at the current time (2010)), only her brother, Joe G. Greer, Sr. and his wife, Betty Hayes Greer, are living.
Matril Rachael Greer graduated high school at Greenville High School and received her nurse's training at Greenville Hospital School of Nursing. Besides being a wonderful nurse to her patients, she took care of her mother, her husband, and all the rest of her and her husband's families.
There was never anything that I or my children needed that she didn't make sure we had. Whether it was a costume for a school play, a Batman cape, a dose of "calm" before a special event, she was there and knew what we needed - often before we knew. Mother loved me unfailingly, but I never realized how much until I watched her with my children! She worked tirelessly for others, often making clothes for abused women in shelters. She read her Bible for long hours and continued to read the Bible, marking passages and writing her thoughts during her last horrendous days of suffering. Mother grew up at Geer Memorial Baptist Church, and in her fifties, she was confirmed as an Episcopalian and was an active communicant at St. Michael's Episopal, Easley, for more than twenty years. She was one of the first female vestry members and the head of the Altar Guild. She was also a member of St. Barnabas Guild for many years.
Thank you, God, that she no longer suffers! She was a remarkable woman and always my hero. My mind is incapable of expressing my admiration and love for her. I only wish I could be more like her; I am just proud to be her only child....proud that my children all love her so much, and sad that my grandchildren can only hear the great stories about their Nana, Matril Rachael Greer Miller.
Parents:
W E Greer (1879 - 1963)
Cora Lee Thomas Gilstrap Greer (1891 - 1961)
Spouse: Cody Morris Miller (1922 - 2013)*
Siblings:
Clemence Greer Moore (1900 - 1992)**
Delvin Greer (1905 - 1916)**
William Loyd Greer (1907 - 1998)**
Lester Arden Gilstrap (1912 - 1994)**
Roy Lee Greer (1915 - 1997)**
Gladys Geraldine Greer Brown (1918 - 2000)**
Fred Lester Gilstrap (1919 - 1959)**
Matril Rachael Greer Miller (1924 - 2003)
Joseph Glenn Greer (1930 - 2012)*
Events
| Birth | 19 Nov 1924 | Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina | |||
| Census (family)-shared | 5 Apr 1930 | (William Elkanah Marchbanks "King" Greer and Cora Lee Thomas) Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina |  |  | |
| Death | 21 Mar 2003 | Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina | | ||
| Burial | Rock Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina | |
Families
| Spouse | Cody Morris Miller II (1922 - 2013) |
| Father | William Elkanah Marchbanks "King" Greer (1879 - 1963) |
| Mother | Cora Lee Thomas (1891 - 1961) |
| Sibling | Beatrice Greer (1920 - ) |
| Sibling | R. V. Greer (1922 - 1922) |
| Sibling | Joseph Glenn Greer Sr. (1930 - 2012) |
| Sibling | William Curtis Greer ( - ) |
Notes
Census (family)-shared
W King Greer Head M 50 South Carolina - Second hand, cotton millCora L Greer Wife F 39 South Carolina - Weaver, cotton mill
Roy L Greer Son M 14 South Carolina
Charles W Gilstrap Son M 14 South Carolina
Gladys G Greer Daughter F 12 South Carolina
Fred L Gilstrap Son M 11 South Carolina
Beatrice Greer Daughter F 9 South Carolina
Matril R Greer Daughter F 5 South Carolina
Endnotes
1. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPZW-Q36 : accessed 26 June 2017), W King Greer, Easley, Pickens, South Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 3, sheet 4B, line 92, family 79, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2209; FHL microfilm 2,341,943..
2. "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J28X-GMG : 19 May 2014), Matril G Miller, 21 Mar 2003; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing)..
3. Find A Grave Memorial# 47501628.