William David “Dub” Green
1926-2011
On Oct. 5, 1926 on a small farm in Hale Center, Texas, Mary Ophelia Copeland Green gave birth to a little boy, the sixth of her seven children. The proud father was her husband, Elijah Edward Green. They named their new son William David. But he was never to be called that name except by telemarketers and other complete strangers.
Maybe William David was too long, or too formal, or maybe southern mothers just like to give their babies nicknames. Whatever the reason, Mary began calling her little boy by his initials W. D. When baby brother Gene started talking he couldn’t say all of the initials… only Dub, and that name stuck. For the rest of his life, from everyone who really knew or loved him, to the name on his bowling shirt, he was Dub.
Dub enjoyed the blessings of belonging to a loving, close family. He told us that one of his favorite memories was doing things with his brothers and sisters. They enjoyed each other all of their lives.
Like all of his siblings, Dub was expected to help out on the family farm where they were very self-sufficient. They ate what they grew… or shot. No one could ever equal the biscuits made by his mother. And biscuits smothered in creamy sausage gravy was one of Dub’s favorite breakfasts all of his life.
Dub excelled in bowling and billiards. Dub was always in a bowling league and had countless trophies. He once bowled an almost perfect game.
Our Dad left high school at age 17 to join the army and serve in WWII. However, as he finished basic training the war was over. So his company went to Japan as part of the occupation forces. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his company, the adventure of sailing on a ship to a foreign country, and could remember some Japanese even at age 85.
When he returned from Japan, his family had moved from Texas to Safford, Arizona. There he met his future bride, Lenora Josephine Sorrells. She turned out to be the girl next store and little sister of his best friend, Bill.
When asked what he first thought of Lynn he brightened and said with enthusiasm, “She was a doll!” They met at a club where Lynn and her brother Bill went to dance. She loved to jitterbug and was pretty disappointed to learn that Dub had two left feet.
They were married on July 31, 1948. They were sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple November 17th, 1972.
In 1952 the family moved to Lawndale California and Dub found an entry level job with Morrison Machine Company as a burr hand. All he did all day long was smooth off the rough edges of metal parts. He stuck with it and eventually was able to become an apprentice and then advance himself to a master machinist. He was a perfectionist in his work and took pride in making precision parts for airplanes and for the first space shuttle.
When Lynn passed away in 2007 they had been married for 59 years.Their daughter Beavelyn died unexpectedly of cancer 18 months after Lynn passed away.
Life is hard. But our loving father and grandfather endured all his trials with great dignity, patience and faith; and through them all became better instead of bitter. His faith enabled him to always have a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye as he looked forward to being reunited with his wife and family.
We will miss him.
9 Responses to “William David “Dub” Green”
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One thing in all the details and fog of funeral preparations and decision making I neglected to name myself as the sole surviving member of our original family of four: Mom, Dad, Beav and me the youngest. We had a wonderful close family and many happy days and even though growing up we never had much money we never felt poor but rather were rich in love. I still feel all their love and care even though they are all together now and I carry on here. I am grateful for all that my father did for me and the wonderful example he always was. I love you Dad and miss you.
Your Son,
Dale
I love hearing stories about Grandpa as a young man. Forinstance, the times he skipped school with friends (even when he knew thepunishment was a “switch” to the backside)..When he met and fell in love withhis best friend’s little sister… when he took a bus and walked quite a distancein crutches from the hospital to make it home for Christmas… and how he helpedstart a neighborhood league so his son could continue to play baseball…they allhave one common thread: A love for life and those around him. And that is theGrandpa I will always remember. He was kind, loving and had such a fun sense ofhumor. I remember as a girl sitting at the foot of HIS (designated) chair andhe warned me that he was very ticklish and I might get kicked if I tried totickle him. (He came close a few times when I couldn’t resist).
I loved hearing him talk about his conversion to the Church.A few years back I asked him what made him want to join. He said when he heardthe Gospel he “just knew”. I loved hissimple, strong faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved without judgment,and he thought of others before himself.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Go forward in life witha twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose inheart.” Grandpa, you truly exemplified the prophet’s wish for all of us, andI know I want to be a better, happier person because I knew you. I love andmiss you greatly.
Lisa Green Bateman
Although I came to know him later in his life, theadmiration he received by those closest to him spoke volumes to me about thekind of person he was and it wasn’t long before he received the same from me.
When Lisa and I lived in Idaho, we had the wonderfulopportunity being three short hours away, and we made that drive often. During one such memorable visit to Utah, I wasexcited to take a trip to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. I was surprised when Grandpa Green accepted myinvitation to join me, but I knew it would be a great opportunity to spend somequality time with him. It was a greatexperience to hear him speak with love and admiration for so many of hisancestors, which whom he is now reunited; I know it was a joyous reunion.
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to get to knowhim. He was a kind, cheerful, and lovingman (even if I didn’t always root for his teams!). He will be missed.
Eric Bateman
> Uncle Dub and Aunt Lynn were very special to me. I became acquainted with
> them during their visits to Safford, Arizona, when they’d come to visit
> Lynn’s sister and Cleta Cluff, Dub’s sister. My Grandma, Cleta, would
> always have me come over to visit them. However, I really got to know them
> well when I attended BYU.
>
> During my first summer and before the term started, I worked as a counselor
> at a youth camp. Intermittently, I had 3 or 4 weeks off. I would go and
> spend those weeks with them. They would love, feed, and entertain me, along
> with storing all of my things in a closet. During those visits is when I
> really came to know them and learned to love them. That’s when I also got
> to know Bevelyn. As a matter of fact, she helped me fill out my application
> for BYU. She HEAVILY helped me write/edit my essay and I’m convinced that’s
> what helped me get into BYU.
>
> I can still hear Uncle Dub’s voice as he’d greet me at the door and give me
> a big hug. He had this way of smiling with a twinkle in his eye. I just
> always felt loved in his presence.
>
> Grand Niece,
> Charity (Cluff) Judkins
>
Dave and Sherry Cluff-nephew of Dub Green- sister Cleta Green Cluff’s son
and daughter in law
Dave used to tell me about his uncle Dub, and how he remembered his Chevy
Impala cars. He always kept them neat as a pin. He was Dave’s favorite uncle
and some 28 years age he became mine too. But how could anyone
not love this man? We have so many fond memories of him and Aunt Lynn.
Almost every January or February they would give us a call and say” hey you
guys want some company? They would first stop at Wanda’s, for a night
or two, then come to Safford and spend about 3 or 4 nights with us. Lynn’s
two sisters lived nearby and they would see them too. Every night we would
have 3 games of Skip-Bo–I always baked him 2 pies, one chocolate and
one custard. Aunt Lynn took her game very seriously and if Dave and Uncle
Dub would win she would get mad and sometimes slap both of them. Of course
then. they would really tease her. Dub would just grin.
I have never seen Uncle Dub get mad or talk bad about anyone, he might say.,
oh he wasn’t much good. but other than that, never a mean thing. He was the
kindest, sweetest, gentle man I have ever known. My father and I werent’ close and I always wished he could have been like Uncle Dub. We used
to call each other sweetie pie, he told me he had two Sherry sweetie pies,one in Wash. and one in Arizona. He probably had alot more than that,
Ha!! He was just such a good person. He was a man among men. And was loved
by so many. He loved his family, his grandkids and greats, and was proud of
them all.Cleta used to tell me stories of when they were young, and how some of her
brothers were a little wild, but not Dub, they all loved him. She said as a
young man he was just the nicest, most mild mannered person that he is till today. He was honest, hard working and had good morals. He was so
patient and understanding. They enjoyed their cruise to Alaska and talked how much fun they had. I’m so glad they got to do that. After our skip bo games, he and Dave would sit out on the porch and talk and
have a smoke. Dave enjoyed his talks with him and reliving old times. We will always have a very special place in our hearts for him and Aunt Lynn. We will miss that sweet grin and that twinkle in his eye. We thank God for sharing him with us for as long as we had him. I know there will never be another”sweetie pie” like our Uncle Dub in our lives. May he dance in
> heaven, with Aunt Lynn in his arms forever. I hope he knew how special he was.
Dale and Cherie, Our hearts go out to you and to your family. How lucky you
were to have such good parents especially a Father like him. I know you know
that, we sure did love him. Take care, and let us know when you get your
little book all done, I think that’s a really neat thing to do. Love you
all, Dave and Sherry
I wish I was a poet, I wish I was an author. A tribute to Uncle Dub
deserves the very best.
My Uncle Dub
He lives such an honorable life. I love him so much and will miss him terribly.
To me he was always kind, gentle, thoughtful and considerate. He always speaks kindly of others. And his sweet smile and twinkling eyes I shall
never forget. He will be always my special favorite uncle. Uncle Dub visited me in Las Cruces twice. We had the best time visiting, cruising around Las Cruces. Everyday we played Skip Bo…now’ he was very
serious about his skip bo playing, and made sure he looked at every card so not to miss anything. And he always expected he was going to win. Two years ago when he was here I was decorating a guitar cake for my
grandson. I didn’t really know what I was doing so Uncle Dub was my coach. He sat at the counter supervising and giving me such good advise saying “Now
Aunt Lynn would do it this way” We were at it for quite awhile: but you know what, that cake looked quite amazing. His trips were so enjoyable I was never ready for him to go. He was just one of those special people you never want them to go. When I was a little girl Uncle Dub called me his little “Jolie Blond”. I
love you Uncle Dub and may the Lord bless you always.
Love,
Mary
One of the fondest memories I have of Grandpa Dub is playing pool with him. Growing up Grandpa and I had a running playing pool party every Sunday I could make it.I hardly ever won and when I did it was either because I got lucky and sank the nine ball off a break or Grandpa Dub would miraculously miss a simple shot and leave it wide open for even me to win. Every time I would win I would give grandpa a winning head rub and mess up his hair. As I got older and got married the pool games never stopped. Every time I would make it up to his home we would go down and play pool. He even found the energy to beat me in pool just months after having one of his famous strokes or heart attacks. Yes, he even beat me with a disability .. Haha.
That is not only a tribute to how good he was but how bad I am! Lol
As Roxy and I had kids a huge blessing to me was when the kids were old enough to go down and play pool with me and Grandpa Dub. First Brianna and then baby Dub. It was awesome to have a picture taken of the 3 generations of “Dub’s” down at the pool table, as I used to go by that name at some high school jobs because of how many “mikes” there were. No matter how sick grandpa felt he always made time to play pool with his grandkids and great grandkids!>
Grandpa Dub was truly a father figure in my life growing up! During those key growing up years it was nice to learn from the BEST! He was never one
to back off when us 3 boys were acting up yet he was always there to motivate us and congratulate us on our accomplishments. I had some of my favorite times spent with Grandpa Dub sitting in his garage talking after Grandma Picky and my mom passed away. We would reminisce about the good ole times in Taylorsville Utah and all of the memories of mom and grandma Picky. I really got to know Grandpa Dub as a person sitting there in that garage, how he grew up, where he grew up, stories of his youth and how he met grandma Picky. One of my favorite stories was how he and his
brother would go down to the local pool hall and hustle people at pool. Listening to these stories made me think that even though he was my grandfather I could have totally hung out with him in his day!
I will miss not only my grandfather but one of my best friends!
Michael Gleed
I enjoyed reading this, and the pictures. My husband David Cluff, and I will miss our dear Uncle Dub very much. He was a very special part of our lives. We will miss him, as will all those that loved him.
Grandpa,
You have influenced me to always reject corruption, lies and hatred…..and to embrace honesty, integrity and above all compassion. You are without a doubt the most kind and gentle human being I have ever known. I view this not as a weakness, but as the greatest strength mankind has to offer. I’m so proud and honored to be your grandson. Thank you for your service to our country in desperate times. You are and have always been a shining example to all of us when faced with adversity. I promise to you that I will uphold your values and make you proud with how I spend the remainder of my days.
I know that where he now resides, he is at peace, is, he is taking care of grandma and bev, ….I know that wherever I reside…he will always have his hand on my shoulders’.
I Love You GrandPa
Chris Green
I wish i could have been at his funral i miss him very much and wish he could have been able to see me again and serenity who he never met. I love you guys so much