Irene Crews
December 20, 1942 – August 18, 2024
Irene Greene Crews, 81, formerly of Mullins, passed away peacefully on August 18, 2024, at Copper Basin Health and Rehabilitation in Ducktown, Tennessee after a brief illness. She was born in Sanford, North Carolina on December 20, 1942, the daughter of the late Alton Glenn Greene, Sr. and the late Maude Hunter Greene.
Irene was a graduate of Wampee High School, where she was salutatorian of her senior class. She proudly attended Columbia College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and embarked on a teaching career. She loved teaching and remained close to many of her students into adulthood attending weddings and birthday parties long after she had retired. She was an advocate for special needs individuals. As a mother, she met with countless educators and rallied to make sure her daughter, Mary Hampton, succeeded and thrived in everyday life. She was a wonderful mother who was always there for her girls offering support, wisdom, and love in abundance.
Irene grew up in Ocean Drive, where you could find her socializing on the beach with friends, working in her family’s business, or shagging at The Pad or Sonny’s Pavilion. In 1970, she married her beloved husband, James “Jimmy” Crews, and they moved to Mullins. As an adult, she enjoyed playing bridge and attending USC football games with her family and friends. Irene was a member of Macedonia United Methodist Church, where she was an active member in the “Pairs and Spares” Sunday School Class, sang in the Macedonia Chancel Choir, and attended several morning Bible studies until moving to Georgia in 2010 to be closer to her daughters. Her move presented the opportunity for her to meet new people, while attending church regularly, even after her health began to decline.
Wherever Irene went, her glowing personality, warmth, and cheerfulness would fill the room instantly. In recent years, she moved into Cameron Hall Assisted Living in Ellijay, Georgia and then to Copper Basin Health and Rehabilitation in Ducktown, Tennessee, where she continued her service of love to those around her. She would share Bible verses, devotions, and her faith with other residents, or sit with individuals who were bed ridden. She attended several activities and especially loved winning dominoes and BINGO or having her nails done. A Southern lady, Irene always made sure she had her lipstick on and her jewelry matched her outfit.
Irene was predeceased by her parents and her beloved husband, Jimmy.
Survivors include her daughters, Jenna Chastain (Stacy) of Blue Ridge, Georgia, and Mary Hampton Crews of Chattanooga, Tennessee; along with her grandchildren, McKenzie and Crews Chastain; brother, Alton Glenn Greene, Jr., sister-in-law, Edna Powers; nieces, Cathi Powers, Karen Powers, and Polly Haselden, and a nephew, Glenn Greene, III.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 24, 2024, in the chapel of Meares Funeral Home in Mullins. The family will receive friends at the funeral home following the service. A committal service will be held at Cedardale Cemetery.
If you would like to remember Irene, the family suggests that donations be made in her memory to Macedonia Methodist Church, 402 North Main Street, Mullins, South Carolina 29574.
An online guestbook is available at www.mearesfh.com.
Meares Funeral Home is honored to serve the Crews family.
Funeral Service
Meares Funeral Home
Saturday, August 24, 2024
2:00 p.m.
6227 E Highway 76
Mullins, SC 29574
The family will receive friends at the funeral home following the service. A committal service will be held at Cedardale Cemetery following the visitation.
