Mildred Griffin Griner, 92, of Ocilla, Georgia, died Tuesday, September 23, 2014, at Irwin County Hospital in Ocilla.
Funeral services will be held 11 AM, Saturday, September 27, 2014, at Ocilla United Methodist Church with the Rev. Jay Roberson officiating and Mary Ann McDaniel delivering the eulogy. Interment will follow in the Brushy Creek Cemetery in Irwin County. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6 to 8 at the funeral home in Ocilla. Mrs. Griner will lie in state one hour before the service on Saturday at the church.
Mrs. Griner was born in Berrien County, Georgia, to the late Homer Thomas and Mattie Lee Purvis Griffin. A devoted educator and three-time cancer survivor, she earned her BA degree in Math from Valdosta State College and her Masters of Math Education from the University of Georgia. Throughout her 40-year teaching career in Wayne, Burke, Cook, Effingham and Irwin counties, she influenced the lives of thousands of students. Mrs. Griner was concerned that each student achieve to the best of his or her ability, maintain high academic standards, and develop high moral values. She was honored as STAR Teacher on three occasions. After retiring from education, she served the Irwin County Department of Family and Children Services for 10 years. Mrs. Griner was a member of the Together Sunday School Class of the Ocilla United Methodist Church, Beta Pi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, Georgia Retired Teachers Association, and past Treasurer of the Ocilla United Methodist Women. She was very active in the community until suffering a stroke in 2007. Mrs. Griner was a member of Ocilla United Methodist Church.
She is survived by her two daughters: Patricia Griner of Atlanta and Janice Griner Wolfe and her husband, Ned of Marietta; one granddaughter: Catherine Elisabeth Wolfe. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband: Robert L. Griner and three brothers: Howard, Felton and Donald Griffin.
The family suggests that memorials may be made to the Property Development Fund, % Ocilla United Methodist Church, P O Box 61, Ocilla, Georgia, 31774.