Genevieve was born in Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee, the oldest child of Clara PHILLIPS and Mack MAJORS, a working class couple. Her daddy worked for the railroad; and from the age of five, Genevieve shouldered much of the care of her siblings and became the family's chief cook, duties which eased the load of her mother who worked in a local hosiery mill.
In 1935, Genevieve eloped with Charles GILES, a Harriman printer who eventually joined the US Army and whose service turned her into an Army wife for the rest of her life. Together, they raised five children and lived in a number of southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic states. She stayed near home during Charles's duty in Japan; but when he was stationed in Germany, she and their children eventually joined him there for two different three-year assignments. Wherever she was in the world, her quick intelligence and wit - and her cooking - made her fast friends from locals and other service families. Though she loved seeing new places and learning about cultures different from her own, she was always a little homesick. One way she mitigated it was to become a prolific letter writer.
Despite not graduating from high school, Genevieve loved writing. In addition to composing long letters, she wrote poetry - often romantic verses for Charles. She enjoyed hillbilly music and Southern roots music. Around the house, she could frequently be heard singing her favorite rendition of her favorite song, "Barbry Allen" ("Barbara Allen"). She loved listening to music and serial stories on the radio. She was very proud of her two oldest daughters' roles as lead singers for a hillbilly band playing around Stuttgart, Germany. She grew into a remarkable cook and loved exchanging recipes, delighting in gathering traditional ethnic dishes she could test on family and friends.
Genevieve died in an iron lung at the US Forces 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany (APO 757) on 1 Feb 1964 - 0210 hours (2:10 am) local time (8:10 a.m. EST, 31 Jan 1964, United States). Her death certificate gives the cause of death as "Landy's Ascending Paralysis Guillian Barre Disease" (sic) with "Diabettes Mellitus" (sic) as an "other significant condition." A family-centered woman, she lived long enough to enjoy the births of over half her twenty grandchildren.
~Contributed by TnType
In 1935, Genevieve eloped with Charles GILES, a Harriman printer who eventually joined the US Army and whose service turned her into an Army wife for the rest of her life. Together, they raised five children and lived in a number of southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic states. She stayed near home during Charles's duty in Japan; but when he was stationed in Germany, she and their children eventually joined him there for two different three-year assignments. Wherever she was in the world, her quick intelligence and wit - and her cooking - made her fast friends from locals and other service families. Though she loved seeing new places and learning about cultures different from her own, she was always a little homesick. One way she mitigated it was to become a prolific letter writer.
Despite not graduating from high school, Genevieve loved writing. In addition to composing long letters, she wrote poetry - often romantic verses for Charles. She enjoyed hillbilly music and Southern roots music. Around the house, she could frequently be heard singing her favorite rendition of her favorite song, "Barbry Allen" ("Barbara Allen"). She loved listening to music and serial stories on the radio. She was very proud of her two oldest daughters' roles as lead singers for a hillbilly band playing around Stuttgart, Germany. She grew into a remarkable cook and loved exchanging recipes, delighting in gathering traditional ethnic dishes she could test on family and friends.
Genevieve died in an iron lung at the US Forces 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany (APO 757) on 1 Feb 1964 - 0210 hours (2:10 am) local time (8:10 a.m. EST, 31 Jan 1964, United States). Her death certificate gives the cause of death as "Landy's Ascending Paralysis Guillian Barre Disease" (sic) with "Diabettes Mellitus" (sic) as an "other significant condition." A family-centered woman, she lived long enough to enjoy the births of over half her twenty grandchildren.
~Contributed by TnType
Genevieve was born in Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee, the oldest child of Clara PHILLIPS and Mack MAJORS, a working class couple. Her daddy worked for the railroad; and from the age of five, Genevieve shouldered much of the care of her siblings and became the family's chief cook, duties which eased the load of her mother who worked in a local hosiery mill.
In 1935, Genevieve eloped with Charles GILES, a Harriman printer who eventually joined the US Army and whose service turned her into an Army wife for the rest of her life. Together, they raised five children and lived in a number of southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic states. She stayed near home during Charles's duty in Japan; but when he was stationed in Germany, she and their children eventually joined him there for two different three-year assignments. Wherever she was in the world, her quick intelligence and wit - and her cooking - made her fast friends from locals and other service families. Though she loved seeing new places and learning about cultures different from her own, she was always a little homesick. One way she mitigated it was to become a prolific letter writer.
Despite not graduating from high school, Genevieve loved writing. In addition to composing long letters, she wrote poetry - often romantic verses for Charles. She enjoyed hillbilly music and Southern roots music. Around the house, she could frequently be heard singing her favorite rendition of her favorite song, "Barbry Allen" ("Barbara Allen"). She loved listening to music and serial stories on the radio. She was very proud of her two oldest daughters' roles as lead singers for a hillbilly band playing around Stuttgart, Germany. She grew into a remarkable cook and loved exchanging recipes, delighting in gathering traditional ethnic dishes she could test on family and friends.
Genevieve died in an iron lung at the US Forces 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany (APO 757) on 1 Feb 1964 - 0210 hours (2:10 am) local time (8:10 a.m. EST, 31 Jan 1964, United States). Her death certificate gives the cause of death as "Landy's Ascending Paralysis Guillian Barre Disease" (sic) with "Diabettes Mellitus" (sic) as an "other significant condition." A family-centered woman, she lived long enough to enjoy the births of over half her twenty grandchildren.
~Contributed by TnType
In 1935, Genevieve eloped with Charles GILES, a Harriman printer who eventually joined the US Army and whose service turned her into an Army wife for the rest of her life. Together, they raised five children and lived in a number of southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic states. She stayed near home during Charles's duty in Japan; but when he was stationed in Germany, she and their children eventually joined him there for two different three-year assignments. Wherever she was in the world, her quick intelligence and wit - and her cooking - made her fast friends from locals and other service families. Though she loved seeing new places and learning about cultures different from her own, she was always a little homesick. One way she mitigated it was to become a prolific letter writer.
Despite not graduating from high school, Genevieve loved writing. In addition to composing long letters, she wrote poetry - often romantic verses for Charles. She enjoyed hillbilly music and Southern roots music. Around the house, she could frequently be heard singing her favorite rendition of her favorite song, "Barbry Allen" ("Barbara Allen"). She loved listening to music and serial stories on the radio. She was very proud of her two oldest daughters' roles as lead singers for a hillbilly band playing around Stuttgart, Germany. She grew into a remarkable cook and loved exchanging recipes, delighting in gathering traditional ethnic dishes she could test on family and friends.
Genevieve died in an iron lung at the US Forces 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany (APO 757) on 1 Feb 1964 - 0210 hours (2:10 am) local time (8:10 a.m. EST, 31 Jan 1964, United States). Her death certificate gives the cause of death as "Landy's Ascending Paralysis Guillian Barre Disease" (sic) with "Diabettes Mellitus" (sic) as an "other significant condition." A family-centered woman, she lived long enough to enjoy the births of over half her twenty grandchildren.
~Contributed by TnType
Inscription
D2961
Genevieve M
His wife
Jun 29 1917
Feb 1 1964
Gravesite Details
Shares grave and stone with Charles. Her name is on the reverse side of the stone.
