Carolyn Greer Heard

Carolyn Greer Heard, 83, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, February 14, 2016, after a long battle with kidney disease.  Visitation will be held Tuesday, February 16 at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, downtown Baton Rouge, from 5-7 p.m., followed by graveside services Wednesday, February 17 at 4 p.m. in St. Peter's Cemetery in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rev. Warren Black is officiating.  Mrs. Heard was born at home on Hollywood Drive in Baton Rouge on May 5, 1932, to the late Julius Clyde and Ann Maxwell Greer.  She was a devoted daughter, wife, mother and grandmother, and enjoyed reading, traveling, antiquing and spending time with her family.  She graduated from Baton Rouge High School and attended Mississippi College, where she met the love of her life, William Lee Heard, Jr., with whom she celebrated 62 years of marriage.  She was a member of First Baptist Church, the Junior League of Baton Rouge, and the Baton Rouge Woman's Club.  She was active in Psi Psi Psi Sorority, where she served as a delegate and International Vice President.  She was a longtime board member of Union National Life Insurance Company, and co-founder of the Greer-Heard Foundation at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Billy; her infant daughter Beth; her son, William Lee Heard, III; her stepmother Lelia Comish Greer: her stepsister Kathryn Comish Rowland; brother-in-law Dr. Francis Charles McMains; and nephew Richard Orion McMains.  She is survived by her husband William Lee Heard, Jr.; her son Bruce Greer Heard (Mistie) of Baton Rouge; her daughter Carolyn Heard McMillin (David) of Madison, MS; sister Ann Greer McMains of Baton Rouge; and grandchildren Gregory David McMillin, of Philadelphia, PA, Lauren Marie McMillin, of Nashville, TN, Mark Walker McMillin, of St. Louis, MO, Presley Kendall Davis and Caroline Kendall Heard, of Baton Rouge; brother-in-law Thomas Allan Heard (Mary Alice) of Lexington, KY; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.  Pallbearers are her grandsons; her nephews Julius Greer McMains and Andrew Tyrone McMains; and also Larry Clinton McCullough and Larry Joe McMillin.  Honorary pallbearers are nephews Timothy Allan Heard, Joel Douglas Heard, Francis Charles McMains, Jr., and Robert Timothy McMains.  The family would like to extend a very special thanks to her devoted doctors, and to her caregivers, Diane Lee and Bernadette LeDuff, for their exceptional love and support.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS), 3939 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70126 for the Greer-Heard Foundation, or to a charity of your choice.