Mr. Mountain A. Greene

Former Upson County Sheriff and retired Georgia State Patrol Captain Mountain A. Greene died at his home on Thursday, October 29th, 2015 at the age of 82. Mountain 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. Mountain joined the U. S. Navy in 1951 and served four years during the Korean crisis. After leaving the Navy Mountain 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 Mountain was elected Sheriff of Upson County and served for 9 years, retiring in 2000. Mountain 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. Mountain 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. Mountain 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. Mountain 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 will be held on Saturday, October 31st, 2015 at 11:00 AM, at Mountain View Baptist Church. Dr. Rex King will officiate and burial will follow in South View Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Fletcher-Day Funeral Home on Friday from 5:00 until 7:00 pm. Serving as pallbearers will be 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 will be 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 will also serve as honorary pallbearers. Fletcher-Day Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at www.fletcherdayfuneralhome.com