Ervin C Greis
Kentucky Post, April 14, 2001, page 12A
Ervin C. Greis
spent most of his life quietly helping others. He and his wife, Hilda, delivered meals to families in need. They reached into their own bank account to pay medical bills for strangers. As a young man, Mr. Greis was always available to drive priests or nuns who could not drive an automobile. Mr. Greis,87, a longtime Southgate resident, died at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Highlands of Fort Thomas, where he had lived for less than a year.''I learned my love of my religion and my God from him,'' said one of his daughters, Mary Lee Vennemann of Cold Spring. ''It wasn't lip service. He lived it. They didn't give people charity. What mom and dad did was love.'' Mr. Greis was a car repairman and later foreman on trains at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. Throughout his life, he and his wife found ways to help other people in need. ''They never talked about it. The only way we'd find out was to hear about it years later from someone else,'' Mrs. Vennemann said.
Mr. Greis retired early because of arthritis in 1973. ''He had 28 years of retirement. He spent it doing for the poor,'' his daughter said. He volunteered at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, repairing lawn mowers and other donated appliances and equipment. Through that organization, he learned of families who needed help. ''Mom and dad lived on a fixed income. They didn't have a lot of money. But they'd shop sales, and mom would make complete dinners and they'd deliver them,'' Mrs. Vennemann said. They lived across the street from St. Therese Church and attended Mass each morning. Mr. Greis also made rosaries and gave them away. He was a member of the Holy Name Society of St. Therese Church, the Catholic Order of Foresters, and was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. He also was a member of the Railroad Carmen of America Lodge 6401 and had been active in the American Association of Retired Persons.
After his wife died in 1997, Mr. Greis continued his charity work. His health started to fail a year ago. He moved briefly to an apartment and eventually to Highlands of Fort Thomas. ''When he moved in, one of the aides came up to me and said 'Your mom and dad fed our family while we were growing up,' '' Mrs. Vennemann said. Other survivors include daughters, Donna Keuper of Wilder and Kathleen Donlin of Fort Thomas; son, Larry Greis of Fort Thomas; 15 grand-children and 13 great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Therese Church, Southgate. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Fort Thomas. Prayers will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Stephen Cemetery, Fort Thomas. Memorials are suggested in the form of Masses or to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 2655 Crescent Springs Road, Erlanger, Ky. 41017-1504.