George O Green

George O. Green, 87, of Battle Creek, MI, went to be with the Lord on October 12, 2022 surrounded by his wife and family. He was born April 2, 1935 to Harry and Leta Green of Battle Creek. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Paul Green of California, and his sisters, Shirley Jones of Lansing, MI and Dorothy Shafer of Swartz Creek, MI.

George met his wife, JoAnne Sly, when a friend invited him to the Pilgrim Holiness Church (later First Weslyan Church) where they later married on January 15, 1955. They also attended Family Altar Chapel for many years and, most recently, Grace Fellowship Baptist in Battle Creek.

He attended Battle Creek Central High School, Kellogg Community College, University of Arizona, and Western Michigan University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from WMU in 1971 while working full time and raising four children.

His favorite job was working as a policeman in Battle Creek in the 1960’s. After a short transition to Clark Equipment, he moved his family to Arizona where he joined the Tucson Police Department. After 2 ½ years, he returned to Clark Equipment where he spent the next 22 years.

One of George’s defining characteristics was that he could never sit still. Even in retirement, he was always working on the house, fixing a car, or playing an instrument. He also had an engineer’s mind that liked to figure out how things work. In fact, in his spare time, he created a remote starter for his car – before they were on the market – using an old garage door opener. He even figured out a way to convert his truck to run on both gas and propane.

George loved being with his family. He is survived by his wife JoAnne, daughters Melanie (Fred) Vandine of Benson, AZ, Karen (Bob) Peck of Kodak, TN, Michelle (Lance) Cowles of Battle Creek, MI and Pamela (Joe) Mitchell of Portage, MI. He is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held at Baxter Funeral Home in Battle Creek on October 21, 2022 at 1pm with a Celebration of Life service beginning at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Rose Arbor Hospice of Kalamazoo, MI or Grace Fellowship Baptist of Battle Creek, MI.