Robert Emmett Gregory

IRMO—Robert Emmett Gregory, age 95, died Thursday, May 8, 2015, after complications from a head injury. A worship service celebrating his life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 11, 2015, at Temples Halloran Funeral Home Chapel, 5400 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212. Dr. Ed Carney and Dr. Tim Phillips will officiate. Burial will follow in Bush River Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. prior to service at the funeral home. Born August 2, 1919, in Kershaw, South Carolina, he was one of eight children of the late Theron L. Gregory and Annie Pittman Gregory.He attended and played basketball for Brevard Jr. College in 1942 and graduated from Western Carolina University in 1952, with BS degrees in Physical Education and History. After starting Western Carolina University, he volunteered to serve in the US Marine Corp followed by the Marine Reserve.After his honorable discharge from service, he went to work as a coach operator for Greyhound. After working several years, he obtained a leave of absence to complete his last year of college, which he says was most enjoyable because that is where he met the love of his life, Annie Ruth Watts. Upon his death, they had been married 62 years. He enjoyed 40-year tenure with Greyhound in which time he traveled widely from coast-to-coast, especially enjoying his trips out west and to Nova Scotia; and for 37 years, he drove the University of South Carolina Gamecock marching band on their many trips across the country. He was a long-time member of Park Street Baptist Church of Columbia, SC, and later, a member of Riverland Hills Baptist Church of Irmo, SC, where he was a faithful member of the Agape Sunday School Class. He had a great love for his family, church, travel, cars, and sports. Surviving are his wife, Annie Watts Gregory, and his three children, Miriam Gregory Bare (Joe) of Monroe, NC, James Emmett Gregory (Chrissie) of Easley, SC, and Janice Gregory Beatson (Brian) of Irmo, SC; his seven grandchildren, James and Gregory Bare, Ashley, Rebecca, and Elizabeth Gregory, Jordan and Lauren Beatson; and five great-grandchildren, Luke, Hamilton, and Haven Bare, Jesse and Dawson Bare; Surviving siblings, a sister, Mary G. Ellis of Winter Garden, FL, and a brother, Theron Gregory (Lillian) of Kershaw, SC. He was preceded in death by his siblings, Natalia G. Baker, Roger W. Gregory, Judson C. Gregory, J. Elbert Gregory, and C. Herbert Gregory. Memorials may be made to Riverland Hills Baptist Church, 201 Lake Murray Blvd., Irmo, SC 29063.