Forest Greene

Lloyd Forest Greene, age 81, passed away peacefully with his wife and son at his side, Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at their home in Fannin County.

Forest was born at Emory University Hospital in DeKalb County September 26, 1940, to the late Lloyd Francis Greene and Margaret Townley Greene. He was preceded in death by his sister, Margaret Greene Larson.

Forest had lived in Fannin County after his retirement as a letter carrier in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Druid Hills High School, served in the United States Navy for four years on a destroyer out of Pearl Harbor during the Vietnam era. He attended DeKalb Junior College for two years and worked at several different occupations.

He was an architectural draftsman, a journeyman carpenter (helping build Six Flags) and then applied to be a letter carrier. He loved being out-of-doors. He was a gregarious man and made many friends on his various routes. His last route included his wife’s mother’s home, where he could stop and eat lunch, just to make sure she was okay. That walking route was 13 miles long.

Forest married Ellen Sills in 1966 and took her son, Joel, for his son. Forest and Ellen liked to travel and especially enjoyed their two long trips across Canada, one by Amtrak train and the other by vehicle. They went from coast to coast, seeing relatives scattered from Washington, D.C., to Vancouver,  Canada, British Columbia,  Canada, and down to Denver, Colorado.

When Forest and Ellen bought a tract of land in 1970 in Fannin County, they intended it to be for camping and fun. The first cabin they built was of lumber leftovers from several apartment developments on his mail route. He asked the foremen to let him to come by after work and pick up what he could use from their scrap pile and put on his truck. His back yard in Brookhaven soon looked like a lumber yard. Ellen and Joel were busy pulling nails and sorting wood. Friends came up to begin their cabin. At that time, the area had no electricity. They played cards at night by kerosene lantern or candle. One evening, they had a red fox come by and sit by the fire. Everyone was afraid to move. The first year they had the foundation and the floor. The floor was not level. It has been a touch of levity ever since – but it is still there.

Shortly after permanently moving to Fannin County in 1994, Forest and Ellen joined Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. They were both active in the church from the beginning. The church expanded and Forest helped build the new sanctuary, while Ellen served as secretary. He was active and enjoyed both the church services and helping within the church until his health began to deteriorate.

Forest is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ellen Sills Greene; son, Joel Hart Greene; sister, Frances Greene Hobbs (James) of Charlotte, North Carolina; and nephew, Patrick Larson (Kathy), and their three children of Dudley, North Carolina.

The Cremation Society of Georgia arranged for Forest’s cremation. To allow all to have a Merry Christmas, a memorial service is planned for after the first of 2022 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, located at 823 Forge Mill Road, Morganton.

A notice will be placed in this newspaper at least one week before the service. Friends of Forest, Ellen or Joel are welcome to join other friends in the celebration of life for Forest Greene.