Carol Marguerite "Peggy" Brooks Griffin

Mrs. Carol Marguerite Brooks Griffin (Peggy) of Greeneville, TN, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Peggy was born on July 3, 1935 in San Diego, CA. Because of her father’s naval career, many of her summers were enjoyed at Sunnyside Community with her grandparents, the late “Budge” and Bessie Brooks. While her father was in Okinawa, her family resided in Greeneville where she attended Roby School. She graduated from Wilson High School in Portsmouth, VA, and continued her education at East Carolina College. She received a Bachelor of Science in English in 1957, and worked on her Masters in secondary education for the next four summers. She married William O. Griffin, Jr. (Landy) of Williamston, NC in 1960. She then returned to college to receive her elementary teaching certification.

Most of her teaching was gladly “put on hold” to be a full-time mother to six sons: Landy III, Mike, John, Kevin, Derek and Kim. When the first four were under the age of five, Peggy accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior, in May 1967, receiving “peace that the world cannot give”. She began teaching in Christian schools when Kim was a toddler, and continued until he graduated from high school. All six children attended and graduated from Christian schools.

Soon after retiring from teaching, Peggy began writing children’s read-and-color books. She also started the RCT Ministry (Retired Christian Teacher), her ministry of Christian storytelling. Her presentations “always pointed children to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, or to Christian heroes and heroines, role models so needed today.” She would often visit schools, daycares and nursing homes here in Greeneville while she and her husband were here with her mother, Mrs. Jean Brooks. Peggy fell in love with Greeneville. After the death of her husband in 2002, and the necessary move of her mother to Durham-Hensley nursing home, Peggy continued her presentations of Christian stories with various people and places. With her sons’ encouragement, she moved to Greeneville in 2006; she delighted in “becoming a Greenevillian”.

In addition to her husband, Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Carter Gray and Imogene Widener (Jean) Brooks of Greeneville, TN; sister-in-law Evelyn Garner and her husband, Les; sister-in-law Louise Hill and her husband, Frank; and sister-in-law Elizabeth Green, all of NC.

She is survived by her sons: William O. Griffin III (Landy) of Greensboro, NC; Michael C. and Cathy Griffin of Southern Pines, NC and sons Joshua Michael and Jacob Loyd; John C. Griffin of Lighthouse Point, FL; J. Kevin and Krista Griffin of Lilburn, GA and children Jared Knight (and Schuyler), William Jamison, Jenna Jouette and Jaci Elizabeth; P. Derek and Alanna Griffin of Marietta, GA and children Savanna Beth and Dakota John; and Kim P. Griffin of Plano, TX. Other survivors are her sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Carroll Fain of Mesa, AZ and their children, Lori (and Rick) Whitesell of Mesa, AZ; Guy (and Jeannie) Fain of Nolensville, TN, and their children, Gavin and Cameron; and Mark and Keith Fain, both of Mesa, AZ; a special aunt and family, Betty and Bill Britton of Tusculum; Billy and Lynn Britton of Tusculum and daughters, Katie Lynn and Jessica; an uncle and family, Howard and Silvia Brooks of Mount Laurel, NJ; an aunt, Mickie Brooks of NC; and a brother-in-law, Billy Green of Robersonville, NC, and several nephews and nieces.

The family will receive friends at Kiser Rose Hill Funeral Home on Friday, April 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. and at Eastside Baptist Church on Saturday, April 11 from 1 - 3 p.m., followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. at Eastside Baptist Church. The body will then be taken to Williamston, NC for visitations at Biggs Funeral Home and Fellowship Baptist Church. A celebration service will be held at Fellowship Baptist Church in Williamston, NC, followed by burial at Woodlawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the scholarship funds at Eastside Baptist Church, 195 Serral Drive, Greeneville, TN; at Fellowship Baptist Church, Hwy 125, Williamston, NC 27892; or to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718 or online at www.cancer.org.