Ranger – Ninety-one year old Vivian Greene is simply amazing as she reminisces about her more than nine decades of life.
She was born in Covington, Ga., in 1935. Her family has deep roots in the region that date back to the late 1600s.
"I was always told growing up that Greene County and Greensboro towns were named after family members," Greene said.
As a youngster, she wanted to go to Sarasota School of Arts in Florida but because her father was paying the bills, she went where he said she was going to go – Texas Western.
Her artwork is a God-given talent she believes as opposed to anything she learned in school.
Greene still loves art today. Several years ago, however, her declining eyesight made it impossible for her to continue.
Her son Monty proudly spoke about his mother's artwork, which is displayed on most walls in her home.
She sold one of her masterpieces for $500. Her paintings include landscapes, flowers, country roads and mountains.
"I thank God that I had 80 something years that I could see and could paint," she said. "I'm blessed for that and I'll move on to the next whatever He wants for me," said Greene.
Her collections
She is a big fan of the movie Gone with the Wind and has memorabilia displayed on tables, shelves and her fireplace mantle.
A cousin, Sue Myrick, was a technical adviser on the Gone with the Wind set and a good friend of Margaret Mitchell, who wrote the novel. Greene has many pieces in her collection as a result of that connection.
Life's events
One of Greene's earlier jobs included working for the State of Georgia as a secretary within then-Gov. Carl Sanders office, where she took dictation and performed other duties as needed. Sanders served as governor from 1963 to 1967.
One day she and co-workers from the governor's office were discussing what they were going to wear to a cocktail party for Bobby Kennedy, who was going to be in Atlanta.
The party was to be held at the governor's mansion.
A man walked up to her desk – "He was white as a sheep," she said – who told her that President John F. Kennedy, Bobby's older brother, had been shot.
"I was right in the middle of interesting things," Greene noted.
She was friends with the capital's photographer then and he was able to get 8×10 black-and-white photos signed by the governor and President Lyndon Johnson, who became president following Kennedy's death.
Pastimes
More recently, Greene was involved with Friends of the Murphy Library.
She enjoys feeding squirrels and birds that come to her flower laden yard, with her son Monty. She likes chocolate candy with the cherries and watching Jeopardy. Greene also likes cuckoo clocks and Christmas. There are several Christmas trees displayed throughout her home that stay up year-round.
Monty has faithfully cared for his mother for the past few years.
"I've got a very understanding wife back home in Texas," he said.