Dr. C. Russ Greer passed away Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Funeral Services will be Saturday, September 7, 2024, 10:00 A.M. at Jesus the Good Shepherd Church. Visitation with the family will be Friday, September 6, 2024 from 2:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. at Kilpatrick Funeral Home, 1200 Lamy Lane, Monroe. Burial will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Oak Grove, Louisiana. All services are under the direction and care of Kilpatrick Funeral Home, Monroe.
He is survived by his family: wife of 57 years, Yvette Strehle Greer; children, Gregory Lane Greer, Alta Marie Greer, Victoria Greer Ringo, and husband Chris and their daughter, Valerie. Dr. Greer is also survived by his sister, Sally Collins; and long time business manager, Denise McMullen, who was honored to be with him over 30 years, and Angela Johnson, his loyal office assistant for 20 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents: Thomas Aubrey Greer and Myrtle Pollard Greer as well as his sister: Jane Greer Broadway.
Dr. Greer was born on September 22, 1940, and grew up on a cotton farm in the rural South in the Oak Grove, Louisiana area. He served as captain of the football team, quarterback for four years, president of the band, first chair trumpet player, and valedictorian.
He attended Louisiana Tech University where he received a B.S. in physics and his pre-med requirements. During his stay at Louisiana Tech, he was selected Outstanding Freshman, president of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, treasurer of the Student Union, Captain of the Outstanding Flight at the USAF ROTC summer camp, and selected in Who’s Who Among Colleges and Universities.
After leaving Louisiana Tech, he was one of twenty-two graduates selected from American Universities to serve as Intern in NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. He received his Doctorate of Medicine at LSU in New Orleans, while also completing an externship and employment with the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, where he monitored astronaut functions and assisted in Human experiments.
Russ completed internship at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, and thereafter entered the United States Air Force. He attended the Brooks School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, and thereafter served as a Research Flight Surgeon with the highest rank as major. He initially served with the Directorate of Bioastronautics in the secret Manned Orbiting Laboratory program in the Space and Missile Systems Organization in Los Angeles. He flew with several astronauts, including Dick Truly who became the director of NASA.
He became a member of the Medical Research Review Committee at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, and performed research within the Vibration and Impact branch. Major Greer became Chief of the Impact Branch Operating Location at Holloman AFB in New Mexico, in charge of the Daisy Track and other impact research devices. He served as Principal Investigator and Medical Monitor conducting research for the collaborative efforts of the USAF, DOT, and General Motors in which the first human volunteer subjects were crash tested biodynamically while protected only with an Air Bag, equivalent of going 60 mph into a parked car. He received an Air Force Letter of Commendation for his efforts in the development of the Air Bag Passive Restraint System. After completion of his tour with the Air Force, he served as consultant to General Motors for several years.
Dr. Greer served as panel member at the 2nd International Conference on Passive Restraints sponsored by NATO, the U.S. Dept of Transportation, and the Society of Automotive Engineers in Detroit. He made a statement for the record for the House Commerce Committee Hearings on FMVSS 208, which led to legislation endorsing the use of Air Bags in automobiles. He then authored the book, “The Air Bag Story: Personal Reflections”.
He completed two years of General Surgery Residency in St. Joseph Hospital in Houston; four years of Neurological Surgery Residency with the University of Tennessee and the Semmes Murphey Clinic Program in Memphis, Tennessee, and thereafter became Board by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He served as a neurosurgical research associate in the Brain Tumor Study Group, University of Tennessee. Dr. Greer was a consultant in workshops for the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute, Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer Program, 1975-1976 in Bethesda, Maryland.
He was the principal investigator in the initial studies of research “Specific Therapy of Patients with Malignant Brain Tumors by using Surgery, Irradiation, and Metabolic Control”.
Dr. Greer was in the private practice of neurosurgery since forming the Greer Neurosurgery Clinic in the Monroe/West Monroe area from September 1, 1977 until June 30, 2013 and functioned as Head of the Section of Neurosurgery at Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, on the staff at St. Francis Medical Center, and North Monroe Medical Center, Monroe, Louisiana. After retiring from performing surgical procedures, he has functioned as a Medical Director for Vantage Health Plan in Monroe.
His outside activities included being cofounder of AOSS Medical Supply, Inc., with customers in all the continental United States, and several foreign countries. He has enjoyed playing trumpet as the Cotton Doc in the group, “the Cotton Doc and the Distributors”. A Life Member of the Louisiana Archaeology Society, he was appointed at Louisiana Lt. Gov. as Board Member of the Ancient Mound Commission of Louisiana which oversees development of the trails and mounds in the state which includes the Poverty Point World Heritage Site. He developed the concept of the Magic Circle of Northeast Louisiana for tourism, served as President of Monroe Rotary, and presently serves as Chairman of the Board for Northeast Louisiana Economic Alliance.
While in New Orleans, Dr. Greer married the lovely Yvette Strehle, a Registered Nurse; and, during their moving about prior to setting in Monroe, had three children: Gregory in Houston, Alta in Los Angeles, and Victoria in Memphis.
He has maintained an active interest in the progress of Louisiana Tech, and was a member of the Graduate Faculty as Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering from September 1994 to September 1999, and he completed serving on the Board of Directors, Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation. Dr. Greer was project director for developing the Dr. Robert Guthrie Jarrell, Jr. Memorial Plaza with a life-size statue of Dr. Jarrell, a prominent support of LA Tech University.

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