George Green Jr.

George Green, Jr. was born on September 23,1936, in Yazoo City, Mississippi to the late George and Mildred (Singleton) Green. As a youth he was called “Red” by family and loved to play with his cousin Thomas and uncle Icom on farmland full of animals and doggies, as he affectionately called them. The Greens were sharecroppers and mill workers. While many of the Singletons and Greens (Lowes) would migrate to the Midwest during the 50s and 60s, a handful of the families had set their sights towards the West.

When he was a teenager, George was the first of his family to make the journey from the South to Los Angeles in 1953. His parents and his only sister Christine Green (Hallback) shortly followed him looking for new work and housing opportunities in Southern California. George often mentioned that he saw a television for the first time when he moved to LA to live with his aunt Helena and uncle Mose Vantley.

In 1956 he graduated from Jefferson High School and shortly after, George started working at Thrifty Drug Stores while taking courses at Los Angeles Community College.

Although he aspired to become an attorney, his life made a slight detour as George started to play semi-professional baseball in the Los Angeles area. He was discovered by the Negro League Baseball great Johnny “Nature Boy” Williams who asked him to attend a spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida for the Indianapolis Clowns. George committed to the Clowns and played in the 1959 and 1960 seasons as an outfielder before turning his attention to other career pursuits. While professional baseball was over, he continued to have long-lasting friendships with fellow teammates for decades.

George would continue to work as a security guard at the Los Angeles Central Library and later as a janitor for Annalee Avenue Elementary School in Carson City. In 1979 he started his proud service as a police officer for the Los Angeles International Airport. He continued his city public service by working for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power starting in 1987. He retired from public service work temporarily. In May 2001 George rejoined the city by working in custodial services for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority which was followed by his final retirement on February 12, 2015.

Moreover, George became a successful entrepreneur as he built and managed two apartment buildings in the West Adams and Harvard Heights neighborhoods in the 70s and 80s. The latter property at 1718 S. Oxford Avenue became the family central location where his children and grandchildren would often meet or live. In his later years, he continued to work doing security stints as it was very difficult for him to completely retire. George Green loved to work!

George also loved being married as he gave marital bliss several tries over the years. From his unions, he became the father to five children. He is survived by Cynthia (Green) Matthews (Los Angeles), Maria Green-Cook (West Covina), Andre Green (Los Angeles), Reynaldo Green (Stonecrest, GA), and Josephine Green (Stonecrest, GA). Over the years, his family expanded with twelve grandchildren and six great grandchildren. In 2019 he married Rosalia (Marks) Green and welcomed her three children into the family clan. Dutiful and loyal, she remained by his side until his last breath when he passed away on February 16, 2023.

Known to all his grandchildren lovingly as PawPaw, he was always kind-hearted and incredibly generous. George would give the shirt off his back and welcomed any of his children or grandchildren with a place to stay if there was ever a need. We will miss his overly detailed long-form storytelling, his slightly high-pitched laugh and his kind grey eyes. We love you. You will always live within our hearts and minds.