Wanda (Keith) Greer has enjoyed a decades-long career as a civil servant, first working as a records keeper and then an officer with the Stephenville Police Department, then serving more than 20 years as the Erath County District Clerk.
“I like helping people,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing through all of my careers.”
Greer graduated from Dublin High School in 1981, and decided to attend Cisco Junior College. Right before classes started, though, she changed her mind and started at Tarleton instead.
During her second semester in school, Greer took a part time job at the Stephenville Police Department in their records division to make some extra money. Within a few weeks the woman who had been in charge of the records department left, so Greer decided to take on the work full-time to help out.
“One thing led to another, and I ended up being over the records for the Stephenville Police Department,” she said. “I also learned how to dispatch for them. So I filled in for that quite a bit. Back then, it was a small department. I was the only one in records, and we only had six dispatchers.”
In 1986, the department paid for Greer to attend the Tarleton State University Police Academy at night. After she graduated, she stayed in the office for another year before new rules at the department went into effect. The rules stated that a person with a law enforcement commission had to be using it, so Greer had to become a patrolling officer.
“I had just had my first child, Valerie, and was actually divorced also,” she said. “At the time we were working eight hour shifts, and we rotated from nights to days.”
This schedule made her life difficult as a single parent. “It was not fun, but we made it work,” Greer says. “My mother helped out a whole lot. She helped when Valerie was little. And then my ex-mother-in-law, who still resides there in Dublin, helped too.”
Greer stayed with the Stephenville Police Department for 21 years total, 16 of those as an officer. For her last four years there she was a community resource officer. “I did a lot of community resource stuff with various organizations throughout the county,” she said. “I was the first to do the Every 15 Minutes program [in the area].”
The program, which started in California, involves staging mock fatality accidents with high school students. The program was designed to make students think about drinking, driving, personal safety, and the impact their decisions have on family, friends and their community. Bringing the program to Stephenville and surrounding areas was one of Greer’s proudest accomplishments over her career.
In 2001, Greer was approached by some people in the county who wanted her to run for District Clerk. She won her race in November of 2002 and took office in 2003.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working for this part of the county,” she said. “It’s kind of the opposite of police work. You see what happens after the choices you’ve made throughout life. So that’s kind of stuck with me. We used to work with CPS cases and all sorts of things throughout law enforcement. I’m now seeing the third and fourth generations of those lingering over. It’s sad, but again, it goes back to the choices that you make throughout your life. Do you want to stay that way, or do you want to choose to take a different route in life?”
An average week at the District Clerk’s office involves overseeing all paperwork involving cases that will be heard in the district court. “It could be anything from a felony criminal case, to divorces, to Child Protective Services cases,” Greer says.
Her favorite part of the work is the interaction with the community. Greer has served as the District Clerk for 22 years, and will be doing at least one more term.
In 2018, Greer remarried, to her old school friend Kelly Greer. “He’s already retired from FMC after 39 years,” she said. “We enjoy traveling. We have a camper, and we have a lot of friends that camp. So we enjoyed going camping out with everyone, and just having a good time and enjoying life.”
Greer has two children, Valerie Stephen, 37, who is soon to be the Erath County tax assessor, and Jonathan Pringle, 31. She has three grandchildren, Huxley, Knoxley and Willow. “They’re definitely the joy of my life right now,” she said.
Greer’s family has been a great source of support for her throughout her life. “I owe a lot to my family members,” she said. “I appreciate everybody that’s had a part in my success.”
Greer’s parents, Pearl and Wayne Keith, raised Greer on their farm in the Highland Community. “We knew what work was all about,” she said. “You have to work to get anything that you want in life. It was nothing for us to be up at 5, 5:30 moving pipe or whatever it took to help with the crop season and help make a living.”
Her father passed away when she was only 22, and Greer took care of her mother for many years. “She had a lot of struggles through her life with health issues,” Greer said. “It made me realize that you have to live life to the fullest, because you never know what’s gonna bog you down in the future or cause you not to be able to enjoy life… you’re not guaranteed tomorrow, so enjoy today.”
Greer offers the following advice to Dublin graduates: “Just strive to do the best you can do,” she said. “Life’s too short to be unhappy, so find that happy place and go for it.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.