Janet Riggle Wilson

ROCK HILL - Mrs. Janet Riggle Wilson, 65, passed away Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, at Piedmont Medical Center, after a battle with cancer.

A memorial service will take place Thursday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. at St. John's United Methodist Church in Rock Hill, with the Rev. Ken Owens officiating. The family will receive visitors immediately following the memorial service.

The daughter of the late Harold and Jane Riggle and originally from upstate New York, Janet graduated from American University in Washington D.C., and received her Master's Degree plus thirty hours in specialized education courses from Winthrop University.

She and her husband, Melford, moved to Rock Hill in 1967. She was a dedicated educator who taught elementary school in the Rock Hill School District for more than twenty years, working primarily with the gifted and talented program.

Janet was an active member of St. John's United Methodist Church, where she enjoyed being a member of the choir for more than three decades. There she worked over the years with children's ministry and community programming and was dedicated to her Sunday School class.

Janet is remembered as a giving person who treated all with dignity and love. As a community volunteer, Janet worked with AIDS organizations and literacy programs. When her husband served as the pastor at Van Wyck United Methodist Church, she played the organ there for Sunday services.

She is loved and missed dearly by her husband of 42 years, Melford Wilson Jr.; her daughter and son-in-law, Marion Wilson and John McMurria; her sons, Melford Wilson III and his finance, Jennifer Merkler, and John Wilson and his wife, Liz; three grandchildren, Brooks, Luke and Lytle; her brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Carol Riggle and his family; the many members of her extended family; and her expansive circle of friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the St. John's UMC Children and Youth Building Fund, P.O. Box 149, Rock Hill, SC 29731 or the Epworth Children's Home, P.O. Box 50466, Columbia, SC 29250.

Greene Funeral Home Northwest Chapel is serving the Wilson family. Condolences may be made at www.greenefuneralhome.net.