Ms. Edith L. McGrew

Ms. Edith L. McGrew 83 of Ellenwood GA passed away on March 14, 2018. Home going services for Ms. Edith Louise Norah Pippen McGrew will be held Friday, March 23, 2018 at 11am at Kelly Lake Church of God in Christ, 2411 Whites Mill Rd, Decatur, GA. Bishop Norman Harper, Pastor. Interment Hillandale Memorial Gardens. Visitation begins Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 10-5pm at Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes- 4347 Flat Shoals Pkwy., Decatur, GA. Following the visitation there will be a memorial service held at 7pm at Kelly Lake COGIC. Ms. McGrew will be truly missed by her loving family and many friends. Services entrusted to Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes, Inc.-South DeKalb Chapel. Please express your condolences here on our website. Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Home, South Dekalb Chapel. 4347 Flat Shoals Pkwy Decatur GA 30034. 404-241-5656. EDITH LOUISE NORAH PIPPEN – MCGREW (August 24, 1934 – March 14, 2018) Mother Edith L. McGrew was given her wings of flight on the night of March 14, 2018 and set off on her final journey to join the company of saints who proceeded her and to bask permanently in the presence of the Lord. Mother McGrew was born on August 24, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama to the late Wallace Norah and Velma King. In addition to her parents, she was proceeded in death by her siblings Ollie Brittian, Mamie Jo and Leslie Jones, and her grandson, Justin Pippen. Mother McGrew is survived by three siblings, Howard Jones (Texas), Wanda Penny Scott and Harvey Lewis (Alabama); four sons, Johnny Pippen Jr. (Kentucky), Michael (Cheryl) Pippen, David (Rose) Pippen and Keith (Debra) McGrew Sr., all residing in Metro Atlanta; five grandchildren, Michael (Deanna) Pippen Jr, David Wendell Pippen, Mary Ann Cooper, Jasmine Cooper, Quran Thomas, Brandon Pippen, Jocelyn Pippen, Keith McGrew Jr, and Karrie Elizabeth McGrew, and a host of great grand-children, nieces, nephews, friends and sons and daughters in Christ. While in Birmingham, Mother McGrew answered her professional calling to serve others as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). There, she married her first love, Johnny Pippen Sr. and moved to Detroit, Michigan, in search of better opportunities and to escape the remaining vestiges of Jim Crow laws. She committed herself to her nursing career and to caring for her three sons. As is often the case, life happened, and she and her husband divorced. She eventually allowed herself to love again and married James McGrew and to that union was born one son. After seven years of marriage, the family headed back to what was emerging as the center of the new south, Atlanta. It is there, where Mother McGrew found her stride, but not without a few speed bumps along the way. A second divorce followed, yet instead of wallowing in hurt and heartbreak or assuming her heart could be healed by another relationship, Mother McGrew, who always considered herself a good Baptist, yielded herself fully to what it means to be in a complete and total relationship with the Lord. One Sunday morning, she got up, got dressed, and instructed her three sons to do likewise. She announced that they were all going to ‘that church around the corner.’ That church around the corner, turned out to be The Valley View Church of God In Christ, pastored by Bishop John Cooper. That morning, the congregation sat attentively, while the pastor preached the gospel with power and conviction. Afterward, he offered Jesus to those who had not accepted Him as their personal savior. Mother McGrew went to the altar and gave her life to the Lord. That moment was not a simple exercise in uttering the prayer of repentance (The Sinner’s Prayer), but instead, it was a world wind event that lasted 30 minutes. With hands lifted and an open and verbal plea for forgiveness, help, and redemption, Mother McGrew emptied herself before the Lord. In return, she was filled (baptized) with the Holy Ghost, as evidenced by speaking in tongues. From that day onward, she was set on a new course of action, and until the evening of Wednesday, March 14, she never turned back. During her time at Valley View, Mother McGrew grew in her faith. She successfully opened the church’s first daycare center, attended worship services and Sunday school on a regular basis, served as a Sunday school teacher, participated in several ministries, and served in various leadership positions. As a direct result of her faith and her transformation, she invested her life as an active and engaged citizen in her community and the schools her sons attended. Her reading of the scripture gave her a picture of believers who could only influence the world if they lived and engaged in the world around them. She did not believe in an isolated faith, but rather one that was lived out for all to see. An engaged faith was the cornerstone of her ministry and shaped so much of how she not only interpreted scripture, but also how she communicated it to others. Mother McGrew’s life in the community was varied and far-reaching. She served as a member of her local Neighborhood Planning Unit, and the local PTA at both the elementary and high schools. She also served as PTA presidents for both organizations, city-wide PTA president for the entire city of Atlanta for two terms, and a Board Member and Board Chair for the Civil Service Commission for the entire city of Atlanta. Along the way, she was a band booster parent and a chaperone for marching band trips, even once walking the entire length of the parade route in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, alongside the marching band with her sons, David and Keith. She was indeed a trailblazer in how she lived out her faith, allowing it to intersect with the world, but never allowing the world to corrupt her faith in the process. Over time, Mother McGrew’s membership at Valley View would come to an end, and with the blessing of her pastor, she transferred her membership to the Hargis Street COGIC, under the leadership of Pastor Earnest S. Lott. Mother McGrew continued to serve faithfully, eventually becoming the Sunday School Superintendent. After the passing of Pastor Lott, his nephew, Bishop Joseph E. Hogan Sr, was appointed pastor and eventually changed the name of the church to New Life Tabernacle COGIC. Mother McGrew saw her influence and reach in the jurisdiction and the national church greatly expand during this period. It was during her time at New Life, that her gifts made room for her. In 1990, she was appointed District Missionary by Bishop Henderson Spivey. In 1994, under the auspices of the late Bishop Chandler David Owens, Mother McGrew was elevated to the highest office in the Jurisdictional Women’s Department, as Supervisor of Women in the Central Georgia Jurisdiction, before the establishment of the now, South-Central Georgia Jurisdiction. She faithfully served as Supervisor of Women for the South-Central Georgia Jurisdiction under the leadership of Bishop Norman O. Harper, until the day of her transition. At the time of her passing, Mother McGrew also served The National Women’s Department as President of the Executive Board, Board Member of the McGlothen House, and National Program Committee member. Locally, she was a beloved member of the Temple of Faith COGIC, under the leadership of Superintendent Thomas L. Frazier. Moreover, the C. H. Mason Theological Seminary selected her as the first recipient of the Mother Lizzie Wood Roberson Award. She was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degrees from Brooklyn Theological Seminary and Vision International University. She was once featured in The Whole Truth Magazine as a Distinguished COGIC Woman, and she authored two books; Today’s Virtuous Woman and The Pain of Death, When There Is No Funeral, It’s Called Divorce. Mother Edith L McGrew was, without question, an exceptional servant in the Kingdom of God!

Tributes

Ms. Edith L. McGrew

August 24, 1934 - March 14, 2018