Rebecca Manis Green

Rebecca was born Hannah Rebecca Manis on April 3, 1926 in Cohutta, Whitfield County, Georgia, the only daughter of Thomas Watson Manis, Sr. and Anna Leo Wheeler Manis. She grew up on a farm in Subligna, Georgia in the beautiful Armuchee Valley bordered by John’s Mountain and Taylor’s Ridge. She deeply loved, and had to contend with, four wonderful Manis brothers, Wheeler, William, Thomas Jr., and Roger, and loved her family dearly. As a child, she was a faithful member of the Subligna Methodist Church, which profoundly influenced her life and where she met some of her closest, lifelong friends. While her father “Papa Tom” made sure his boys learned how to work hard and make a living on the farm and in business, Rebecca, while putting in her time picking cotton and cooking for the boys, was given the opportunity to study piano up the road a few miles in Walker County. Rebecca attended Subligna High School where she excelled in math and played on the girls’ basketball team. At the age of sixteen, she left home to attend Young Harris College, a two-year Methodist college in the Georgia mountains that also profoundly influenced her life and was a place to which she loved to return. After completing her studies at Young Harris, she attended Shorter College, where she continued her piano studies and graduated with an A.B. in math.

Following graduate study at Emory University and Berry College, she found her first job teaching math to the boys at the Hilltop Campus of Rome High School. She lived in downtown Rome and quickly became active in the First United Methodist Church. Soon, she met the love of her life Randolph Berry Green, who had grown up on the campus of Berry College (where his father was the President) and who had recently completed service as Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy dental corps and had established his dental practice in Rome. Rebecca and Randolph were married in Berry Chapel on June 24, 1951 on one of the hottest days of the year and lived happily together for over 63 years. They had three children, a son Richard Leland and two daughters, Virginia Diane and Susan Rebecca. Rebecca devoted herself to raising her children during their formative years. In her quiet, empathetic way, Rebecca always showed her unquestioning support for her children and extended family and all their endeavors. She always loved to return to the Armuchee Valley, the Crystal Springs farm (where her parents had moved), the North Georgia Mountains near Young Harris, the Tennessee River, and the beaches of Georgia and Florida for spiritual restoration. She enjoyed her volunteer work for the First Methodist Church, including Circle 7; Junior Service League; and Mountain View Garden Club. Eventually, to help support her children’s education and careers, she re-entered the workforce as a math teacher at St. Mary’s Catholic School and then West Rome High School, and later as the receptionist, office manager, and general trouble shooter for her husband’s dental practice.

In retirement, Rebecca enjoyed spending time with and spoiling her five grand children. She is survived by her husband Randolph; her brother Roger Manis and his wife Diane; her daughter Susan Rebecca Green; her daughter Ginger Green Rowston and Ginger’s husband Joe, of Rome, Georgia, and their children Gillis Talley Rowston, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Hannah Green Rowston, of Atlanta, Georgia, and William Joseph Rowston III, of Statesboro, Georgia; and her son Richard Leland Green and Richard’s wife Susan, of Alexandria, Virginia, and their children Rebecca Fields, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ann Elisabeth of Washington, D.C.; other sisters-in-law Linda Manis and Mary Manis, and former sister-in-law Joanne Addison; and many other relatives and friends. She was predeceased by her parents Thomas Sr. and Anna Leo and her three brothers Wheeler (Helen), Bill, Tom Jr. and former sister-in-law Joan.

Honorary pallbearers are the Adult Sunday School Class of First United Methodist Church in Rome and all of Rebecca’s nieces and nephews on the Manis and Green sides.

The family extends special thanks to the staff of Brookdale Senior Living Center, Golden Living Center Rehab, Heyman Hospice, and Floyd Medical Center.

The service is Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. in the sanctuary at First United Methodist in Rome with the Rev. Dr. Robert Brown and the Rev. Larry Caywood officiating. A visitation will follow in the sanctuary from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests memorial contributions to be made to: First United Methodist Church 202 East 3rd Avenue Rome, GA. 30161, Berry College 2277 Martha Berry Hwy Mt. Berry, Ga. 30149, or Young Harris College 1 College St Young Harris, Ga. 30582.