Green, Kennedy
August 11, 2000
Age nine-three. Thursday, August 10, 2000. He retired as a Life Underwriter at Mutual of New York Life Insurance Company. Mr. Green was an alumnus of David Lipscomb University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was a member and elder at Otter Creek Church of Christ, a founding member of Lakeshore Home for the Aged, honored Man of the Year at David Lipscomb University and nominated three times by Mutual of New York as agent of the year. Preceding him in death were his wife of sixty-eight years, Willene Allison Green; daughter Peggy Allison Green; two grandsons; sisters, Willette Price, Elizabeth Ballard, Ellen Kirkpatrick; brother,William Houston Green. Surviving are his daughters Sue Smith, Nashville, TN, Dorothy (Glen) Strange, Loudon, TN, Barbara (Charles) Tipke, Port Charlotte, FL, Pamela (Joseph) White, Nashville TN; nine grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren; sisters, Daugherty Doak, Nashville TN and Lucille Towery, Memphis TN. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m., Sunday, August 13, 2000, in the Otter Creek Church of Christ, 5253 Granny White Pike. Tim Woodroof officiating. Active pallbearers will be grandsons. Honorary Pallbearers elders of the Otter Creek Church of Christ. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Murfreesboro, TN. Visitation will be 1-2 P.M. at the church. Arrangements by Woodlawn Funeral Home. 660 Thompson Lane, Nashville TN. 615-383-4754.
Comments by Carolyn Wilson, printed in the Otter Creek bulletin, August 20, 2002
Samuel Kennedy Green: A Tower of Strength
There are so many descriptors we might use in remembering Kennedy Green. He was a gentle man, an organized man, a practical man, an intelligent man, a fair man, a tolerant man, a loving man, a man who enjoyed humor and fun and pleasure, a kind man. But the word that rises above all the others is strength. Kennedy was such a strong man. He did enough physical work that he possessed physical strength, but the more impressive quality was his extraordinary emotional strength. It was a strength that came from a lifetime of experiences and was shaped by an unshakeable faith in God.
Dan Baccus spoke at the memorial service of Kennedy’s decision-making capabilities. I never saw him shrink from a tough decision and I watched him work through many of those. He was not afraid to take an unpopular stand.
He had the ability to cut through to the very heart of a problem and see clearly a solution. Many times he was the solution. Kennedy was a man of action. While others thought about something, he went out and did it. He was a very practical man. We often talked of the similar backgrounds of Kennedy and my father, who were at Lipscomb together. My father had taught school for several years to save enough to come to college. Both worked for their tuition. Both excelled in their school and their careers. It was customary to write a caption under the picture of the seniors in the Backlog. Under Kennedy’s name, it said, “Worth, Courage, Honor—these indeed your sustenance and birthright are.” He carried these qualities all of his life.
When we came to Otter Creek, Larry was a graduate student. Kennedy never “sold” us insurance, but he always advised. He convinced Larry even though we could not afford more insurance, it was the time when we could not afford to be without it. He found an affordable package of term insurance. When Larry completed his degree and joined the Vanderbilt faculty, Kennedy told him he could not do as well for us as Vanderbilt and we should take advantage of those benefits, but if we needed him, he was there. After Larry died, Kennedy wanted to be sure that I was secure and that I could take care of myself and Elissa. When he satisfied himself to that end, I never heard any more about it. But I always knew if I needed him, he was there.
There is no way to know how many people Kennedy helped privately without the knowledge of anyone else. All of us know such instances, but I am certain there were countless others which are not documented anywhere except on the hearts of those who were affected. And that is as he wanted it.
He was a man of great integrity. He never compromised his beliefs or his principles or his ethics. But he was of all men most understanding of others who at times did. He understood man’s humanity better than most, and without judging or preaching, he simply lived his life so that what he was spoke loudly to all who knew him.
When I wrote about Willene, I talked about their mentoring of the young people who came to OC while Kennedy was an elder. We were among those and Larry served under him as a deacon and later with him as an elder. The kindergarten was begun under his leadership. He was one of the founders of Lakeshore and worked tirelessly on that board for many years. He had great vision and he had the practical good sense to know how to make it work as well.
I recall one evening after a particularly difficult session at an elders/deacons meeting, Kennedy walked out with Larry and Dan and remarked, “Boys, this church stuff will drive you crazy if you are not careful.” Profound words. Although there was often frustration, the voice of reason prevailed.
Kennedy liked to finish what he started. His last years were totally dedicated to caring for Willene. He finished that work. What an inspiring legacy he left for all of us who remain.
Just a few weeks ago, we learned that my brother’s hours on this earth were rapidly diminishing. Prentice Meador, a cherished friend, was with me when I received the call. We shared some precious moments as I talked to him of my brother’s life. When I came by my office to pick up some things before I left to go to Kentucky, Prentice had returned to Dallas and had left a note on my desk. As I started to write this, the quote he cited kept coming back to me. It is appropriately applicable for Kennedy Green: “His life was gentle, and the elements so mix’d in him that Nature might stand up, and say to all the world ‘This was a man!’”-- Shakespeare. Julius Caesar, V. 5