Friends and family remember Robert Green Jr. for his southern hospitality and charm.
“He was always the life of the party,” said Green’s sister, Katherine Wolfe of Columbus, Ohio. “He seemed to draw people to him. He was very charismatic.”
Green was born in South Carolina, and he spent most of his summers in Milledgeville, where his father was a state representative.
After he graduated from the University of South Carolina, Green worked for United Press International. Longtime friend Bob Keaton said Green advanced quickly at UPI, covering state legislature and eventually becoming assistant bureau chief. Green had a photo of himself with President Gerald Ford, taken during Green’s time as a reporter. Wolfe said her brother had always been proud of that picture.
In the late 1970s, Green left the journalism industry and moved to California. But Green had always been fascinated by his family roots, and came back to the south in the early 1990s. “He still wanted to be in a big city, and Atlanta had that. But it also had that southern character to it, and I think that was attractive to him,” said Wolfe.
Wolfe said her brother was a real southern gentleman. He was eloquent, and always took an interest in what other people had to say.
Robert Green Jr., 65, of Atlanta, died May 26 at Piedmont Hospital of complications from heart and kidney failure. His family will hold a private memorial service at a later date in Ohio. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill is in charge of arrangements.
Friends say Green connected with his southern roots by researching the history of the Green family, from Milledgeville. His sister said he helped his aunt Blanche Jordan Lumpkin publish a book of the family history called “The Greens of Baldwin County, Georgia—Recollections and Remembrances."
Green was also a talented cook who loved making regional recipes, “even the unhealthy fried food,” said Keaton.
But what Keaton admired most about his friend was his positive attitude. Friends say he made everyone laugh with his intelligent humor and quick wit. In the face of adversity, Green always quoted Scarlett O’Hara: “After all, tomorrow is another day.”
In addition to his sister Katherine, Greene is survived by his stepfather Lt. Col. Herbert T. Kruse of Columbus, Ohio; stepmother Janet Green of Milledgeville; brother Walter C. Green of Milledgeville; and sisters Suzanne Green, Sheri Green Harding and Nanette Green Allen of Milledgeville.
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