Dr. Tom Greer

Dr. John Thomas Greer Sr., age 69 of Arkadelphia, died Wednesday, November 15, 2006 in Arkadelphia. Dr. Greer was born on Sept. 28, 1937 in Arcadia Louisiana, son of the late Thomas Jefferson and Mabel D. Greer. He graduated from Louisiana College with a major in speech and a teaching minor in English. He received a Th.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and later earned his M.A. in English from the University of Evansville. He began his teaching career at Oakland City College in 1968 as a professor in the English Department. He served in this capacity until 1979. After three years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Prescott, Arkansas, Dr. Greer began teaching at Ouachita Baptist University, where he served from 1979 until his death. He was the chair of the English department and occupied the Bennie Sue and Clarence Anthony Professor of Humanities chair.
Throughout his lifetime, Dr. Greer was an active member of many local and statewide civic organizations and boards. Having served as interim pastor for numerous churches, Dr. Greer formed many memorable relationships with congregations throughout the state of Arkansas.
In the minds of many, however, one of Dr. Greer's most enduring legacies will be the ties that he engineered between OBU and China. His travels to China began in 1987, when he served as a designated Foreign Expert to Zhengzhou University for a one-year period. Throughout the subsequent years, he made 18 trips to various cities throughout China to present academic papers, lead conferences, and teach courses.

Survivors include his wife, Angie Boyt Greer; two sons, John Greer Jr. of Little Rock, AR and Kent Greer of Winston-Salem, N.C.; two granddaughters Haylee and Riley and one brother, Steve Williams of Homer, LA.

Visitation will be at Ruggles - Wilcox funeral home in Arkadelphia on Sunday, November 19 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM .

A memorial service will be held at the OBU Jones Performing Arts Center in Arkadelphia on Monday, November 20th at 2:00pm. Burial will be conducted in a private ceremony. In Lieu of Flowers memorials may be made to The Tom and Angie Greer Endowment Fund for International Student Scholarships (c/o Ouachita Baptist University,Box 3754, Arkadelphia, AR 71998-0001) or charity of your choice.