Mrs. Thailia Griffin Mercer peacefully passed away at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home on Saturday, September 5, 2015, following an extended period of illness. She was born in Forsyth County, NC to Mildred Roseboro Griffin and the late James Griffin, Sr. on October 5, 1958. Thailia was a 1976 graduate of West Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem. And she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Livingstone College in Salisbury in 1980 and completed requirements for her master’s degree at Laredo State University in Laredo, TX. She was employed for over thirty years in the ATK Investigative Unit of the United States Government.
Mrs. Mercer was a life-long, active member of Friendship Baptist Church in this city prior to moving to Leesburg, VA where she joined and became involved in the many ministries of Alford Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA. Thailia was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Phi Upsilon Chapter; Livingstone College National Alumni Association, NAACP and numerous other social and civic organizations. In addition to her father, she is preceded in death by her brother, Michael E. Griffin; grandparents, Earl and Ruth Roseboro and Estella B. Griffin; sister-in-law, Verna Griffin and several aunts and uncles.
Those family members who will forever cherish happy moments with Thailia include her daughter, Chaya Mercer and her father, Brian Mercer; mother, Mildred Griffin; brothers: James (Hazel), Fernandez “Bumpy,” Mark and Derrick (Meji) Griffin; sister, Charlene Roseboro; sister-in-law, JoAnn Griffin; uncles: John, Eugene (Viola), Ardeal (Dianne), Curtis and Samuel (Elaine) Roseboro, William and Willie (Ernestine) Griffin; aunts: Azalea (James) Vinson, Bertha Parks, Robbie Allen, Stella (Ricky) Ijames and Carol Jean Griffin; special relatives and friends, Evelyn Mercer, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Mercer, Sr., David and Theodore Mercer, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Earl Browne, Reverend and Mrs. Edward Jackson, The Alford Street Baptist Church Family, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A funeral service will be held at 12:00 pm on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at Friendship Baptist Church. Interment will be at Evergreen Cemetery. Family visitation will be held on Friday, September 11, 2015 from 6:30 pm until 7:30pm with remembrances beginning at 7:30 p.m. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Omega Service will be held at 10:45 am on Saturday and family visitation will follow at 11:15 until the funeral hour. Memorials may be made at WSSU Financial Aid Office for Chaya Mercer, Winston-Salem State University, 601 S. MLK Jr. Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27110 or Livingstone College National Alumni Association, c/o Jackie T. Matthews, Financial Secretary, PO Box 1254, Kinston, NC 28503
For a copy of the funeral program, click here