03/24/2026
Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
— John 13:34–35
Note: All indented italicized quotes are Deanie's own words (2018)
Deanie Wood Greeson went to be with the Lord in the early morning hours of March 20, 2026—the first day of spring. She was 79 years old and was a long-time resident of Murfreesboro, TN. Her story is a story of love and faith.
Deanie was born on July 7, 1946 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee into a Christian family. She said it cost her parents a whopping $75 for the birthing process.
In 1949, through a Veteran's loan and God's grace, her parents bought a home in the Green Hills area of Nashville for $10,000. Their monthly payment was $52.79. Deanie attended Burton Elementary School grades 1–8.
I loved playing with dolls. There were some concrete blocks in the back yard by that oak tree and I would take my Julie doll out there put all her clothes and accessories in those concrete blocks. I told myself, "I'm gonna invite people over here to see this and I'm gonna put some lights on it and get 'em some refreshments." I wanted them to see my Julie doll and her clothes.
She grew up attending Belmont Heights Baptist Church on Belmont Blvd. (now a part of Belmont University). According to Deanie, "life was blissfully predictable because we went to Belmont Heights every Sunday. It was never asked if we wanted to go that Sunday or not."
Most of what shaped my personality was Mother and Dad. My overriding feeling again as a youth was that family and closeness meant everything. I felt safe and loved.
Time went on and Deanie attended Hillsboro High School, where, in her words, "I laughed more than I learned." She was awarded "Wittiest" as a superlative her senior year. She joined the ETC Sorority, Y-Teens and Future Homemakers of America (FHA). She danced under the direction of Ellen Albertine Maxwell (1902–1996) in the Nashville Ballet Society (before it was officially the Nashville Ballet). She served as a summer missionary during the Detroit Riots of 1967.
Deanie graduated from Belmont College (now Belmont University) in 1968 and took part in many theater productions during her college stint. One year, she won the "Miss Congeniality" award at the Belmont "Miss Tower" contest. She performed in "Up With People." Boyfriends came and went, and Betsy Brown became a lifelong friend. Deanie went through a crisis of faith during college, wondering: What is real?
With a degree in elementary education but no interest in teaching a fulltime classroom of her own, Deanie had a series of unfulfilling jobs after college that were great fodder for family gatherings years later. She was a substitute teacher for about 25 different schools, a proofreader for the telephone book, an employee at the Educator's Credit Union, a waitress for Shoney's, a person who counted the ci**rs and chewing gum at Morrison's Cafeteria at closing, a temporary job as a private investigator assistant, a panty-hose salesperson and an attendant at Roman Health Spa.
One time, I sold soap door-to-door. I had this bottle and you were supposed to take this penny and drop it in there. Then, you would show people how clean the penny was. I went to one house and it dropped in there and I couldn't get it out. (The woman had "That Girl" on TV and I asked her if I could just watch it with her.)
And she worked at her father's company for a while.
I worked for Daddy at Wood Sign Co. I answered the phone. I played with some puppies that had been born under one of the sheds there. Dogs roamed free back in those days.
Dad got a Xerox machine. You would put a copy in and turn a k**b. I would make a trip to Woodlawn Funeral Home and ask them if they needed any copies. Then, take them back to the shop, make the copies, and deliver them. They cost about 25 Cents each copy.
After living in Washington, D.C. and Washington state for a number of years, Deanie returned home to Nashville.
I missed home and Nichole was born. I must have been 26...One day I just came home to Nashville and stayed there. It was Christmas and Mother asked me how long I was going to get to stay and I said, "Longer than you think."
She later landed the right job and started a long career with South Central Bell (later Bell South) as a communications consultant.
Later on, she made a friend, Cindy, whose casual invitation turned out to be life-changing for Deanie.
She told me she had a coupon for Judy's Hamburgers for $2 off of a hamburger. She said there was going to be some kind of businessman's meeting—it's called Full-gospel Businessmen's Meeting. She said, "It's right next door to Judy's and if I wanted to, we could go over there at this meeting and maybe meet somebody." I wondered, Meet who and for what? Why would they want to meet me?
After this experience, Deanie changed course completely and realized that she had a lot of growing in the Christian faith to do. It took years.
There were years of loneliness because I wasn't married and I felt like I was the only one on the planet that wasn't married. I would go to church and I was always by myself. Every now and then somebody would come in and sit down and I'd think Uh, huh, okay, I'll bet this is Mr. Right, and then he would get up and leave and I hadn't said a word. He just didn't want to sit by me, I guess (laughs). I guess he wasn't really Mr. Right after all.
But Mr. Right was right around the corner. A co-worker introduced her to Graham Greeson in 1981 and they married in 1982. Although he was the love of her life, one marriage counselor told them that they were the most opposite in nature people he had ever counseled. They did have commitment, faith and values that were common bonds, however. During this time, they prayed to have a child to raise—both Deanie and Graham had always wanted to be parents. This answered prayer was about to happen in a dramatic way.
…we were at a meeting at Bethel Chapel with this guy who was getting ready to go to Russia. I told him that you don't really know anybody until you know where they hurt. So, he said, "Well, where do you all hurt?" I said, "In not having children. I can't have children. I've had a hysterectomy and it's pretty much over."
When he came back from his trip to Russia, he asked us if we would consider adopting a child from an orphanage in Russia. Without even thinking much, I said, "Yes!" And Graham did, too. Even if we had thought about it longer, we would still have said yes.
So, in 1996, Deanie and Graham traveled to Russia to receive the child always meant for them to care for, a daughter, Natasha Marie Greeson. Natasha was 7 years old at the time. Natasha's growing up years were happy ones and their lives felt complete. They were a family.
We went to Russia and got Natasha. We were crazy about her as soon as we laid eyes on her. She had a cut on her knee. Nothing matched that she had on. We gave her that white cat and she took it and was playing with the tail.
These were some of the happiest years of her life: being a wife and mother, gardening, cooking and caring for numerous cats, dogs, neighbors, friends and people in general going through hard times.
Natasha thrived and grew and married James Larson and later they became parents of Olivia Grace Larson, Deanie's grandchild and new love of her life.
Life went on and unfortunately, Deanie's health took a turn for the worse during the last few years of her life. However, her faith and love for others—particularly her family and the suffering—never wavered.
Graham and I are closer than we've ever been. It's comfortable, it's different.
We will miss Deanie and all that she has meant to all of us—the phone calls, the Christmas and birthday presents, the stickers, her explosive laughter that filled the room—but most of all, her love that made you feel like you were the most important person in the world in that moment. You could always count on both she and Graham to pray earnestly for you during a crisis and not just in word only. She really did it.
What others who know her best have said about Deanie: She's a good listener, young at heart, energetic, encourager at the darkest hour, celebratory, empathetic, loyal, supportive and loving.
Deanie often longed for simpler times that focused on family, friends and neighbors. Far away from technology that she found distracted so many people.
Now she is with Jesus and fully at peace at last. She is not here anymore in the flesh, but let us remember always her spirit, her faith but most of all, her love.
Deanie is survived by her faithful and loving husband of 44 years Robert Graham Greeson, daughter Natasha Greeson Larson (James) and granddaughter Olivia Grace Larson all of Murfreesboro, TN. Also, brother Stephen Edwin Wood (Ana) of Overland Park, KS, sister Rita Wood Venable (Phil) of Franklin, TN and brother-in-law, Philip Wayne Greeson (Susan) of Braselton, GA and much-loved nieces and nephews Nichole Wood Huseby (Craig) of Nashville, TN, Grace Wood Warnky (David) of Mobile, AL, Nathan Wood (Alexis) of Kansas City, MO, Robin Venable Kenny (Patrick) of Brentwood, TN, Jeffrey Turner Venable (Ally) of Nashville, TN, Tricia Greeson Padgett (John) of St. Augustine, FL and Grant Greeson (Mark) of Atlanta, GA.
She is predeceased by her father Clarence Edwin Wood, her mother Grace May Wood and many beloved uncles and aunts especially Ivor and Mary Rozelle Wood. All lived in Nashville, TN.
The funeral service will be held at the Murfreesboro Funeral Home (MFH) on Thursday, March 26 at 1:00. Visitation will be from 11:00–1:00 at MFH. The family requests that attendees wear a splash of purple or lavender to the service in honor of Deanie. Interment will follow the service at Evergreen Cemetery, 519 Greenland Dr., Murfreesboro.
Donations may be made to Crossroads Campus, 1603 Buchanan St., Nashville, TN. Website: https://www.crossroadscampus.org and Experience Community Church, 521 Old Salem Rd., Murfreesboro, TN. Website: https://experiencecc.com.
Purple is not just a color; it is a spiritual emblem layered with meaning. It speaks of royalty, repentance, suffering, and ultimately, triumph. During the season of Lent—which leads up to Easter—purple becomes a visual reminder of the solemnity of the journey to the cross and the majesty of the risen Christ. As such, it plays a vital role in the Christian calendar and the experience of Easter worship and reflection.
