Mary Frances Snider Greene

Mary Frances (‘Tinkie’) Snider Greene, age 91, of Fairfield Glade, TN, formerly of Memphis, died at her home on January 23, 2021. She was a daughter of the late Luther Lonnie Snider and Carolyn Gardner Peterson Snider. A brother, James Gardner Snider, and long-time partner, George Bush, predeceased her. She is survived by her daughter, Jeanie Whitington Mercer (Breen Bland), Memphis; granddaughter, Amanda Mercer Thompson (Dave), Atlanta, GA; sister, Lonnie Catherine Snider Arnold, Colorado Springs, CO; special niece Kathleen Arnold (Jerry Siegel), Aurora, CO and other nieces, Julia Arnold and Sally Arnold Meister, both of Colorado Springs, CO, and nephews, Jim Snider, Dennison TX, and Keith Snider, North Augusta, SC, several grand-nieces and nephews, and her faithful canine friend Finn.

Mary was born on November 11, 1929 in Memphis three weeks after the Great Depression began. She attended public schools in Memphis and graduated from Whitehaven High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree, University of State of New York (now Excelsior College) and Master of Arts (Executive Development for Government Service, Computer Science and Data Management) from Ball State University. She was also a Certified Data Processor (CDP).

Ahead of her time as a woman in technology, Mary completed 32 years civil service with the federal government at several agencies beginning with the Department of Agriculture in Memphis, then during the Cold War years she worked at the Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; and Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; the Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL; US Army Materiel Command and US Army Computer Systems Command, Zweibrücken, Germany, and Indianapolis, IN. She enjoyed working at the Redstone Arsenal during the Vietnam War. This period was also while the Saturn rocket was being developed, and the frequent static test-firing took place right outside her office window. Leaving Redstone, she went to Zweibrücken, Germany, to continue working in the data processing field for the Army providing supplies to troops in Europe. While in this position (and in later years), she traveled to many European countries, discovering a love for French food and wine and ski trips with friends. At the time of her death, she had been in 54 different countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. She especially remembered a 2005 trip to Normandy, France led by a World War II history professor from the University of Tennessee with a small group that included some veterans as having a profound impact on her. She retired in 1990 as the Director, United States Army Information Systems Command-Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN as well as the Director of Information Management for Fort Benjamin Harrison.

During a “break in service” in the l960s, she managed the Giles County Municipal Airport in Pulaski, TN, owned and operated Greene Flying Service, and served as a flight instructor, sometimes accepting turnip greens or calves for payment. She was the first woman in the Mid-South to be certified as a commercial glider pilot. She was also the News Editor of the weekly newspaper, The Pulaski Citizen, and served as Commander of the Civil Air Patrol in Pulaski during that time.

After retiring to Fairfield Glade, Mary authored and published her family’s genealogical book We Have Roots Too, co-authored and published two autobiographies, including transforming former felon Ralph Reagan’s recorded verbal history into his autobiography Fallen, Felon and finally Faith. She also compiled and published a book of Zweibrücken-colleague memories, a Zweibrücken cookbook, and copy edited and formatted dozens of other books for various authors. Unsurprisingly, Mary was an avid reader, her taste spanning many genres. In her later years, she especially enjoyed a good murder mystery with Agatha Christie a recent favorite author. She was also a passionate golfer and enjoyed Lady Vols basketball and the Indianapolis Colts.

Mary was a long-time member of and volunteer for Fairfield Glade First Baptist Church and a member of the Plateau Writer’s Group. She also volunteered as a receptionist at the Bread of Life Mission Medical Clinic for several years. A strong, independent woman, Mary taught her daughter to be the same. She was a loving grandmother who hosted her favorite (only) granddaughter every year during her childhood the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and many times in later years at her home on Lake Dartmoor with her friends, husband, and dogs. All three generations of women shared a love of travel and reading.

A private graveside service for family only will be held, with burial in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. Due to Covid-19, a memorial service at the Fairfield Glade First Baptist Church will be scheduled later this year once in-person gatherings are safer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis, https://rmhc-memphis.org/give; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html; or Bread of Life Rescue Mission in Crossville, TN, http://breadofliferescue.org/index.