Memorial service for Dolores Anne Green, age 80, of Decatur, will be Thursday, April 4, 2019, 2:30 p.m., at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church, Decatur, AL. The family will receive friends for one hour prior to service at the church. Shelton Funeral Home is assisting the family.
Mrs. Green, who passed away on March 29, 2019, at Decatur Health & Rehabilitation, was born September 14, 1938, in Rock Hill, SC to Marion William Foster and Mary Elizabeth (White) Foster. Anne lived at first with her parents and grandparents in and around the town of her birth. After her mother’s marriage to her stepfather, U. S. Air Force officer William DeTemple, she began to travel and lived in locales as far-flung as Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, and California. Upon her graduation from high school in 1957, she immediately began training under the nuns of Mt. Carmel School of Nursing in Columbus, OH.
Soon after graduation from nursing school in 1960, Anne married William Ernest Gibbs of New Philadelphia, OH, and they began their life together in Columbus, OH. She gave birth to two sons in 1961 and 1964, before the untimely death of her husband in 1965. In 1967, she married a U. S. Air Force officer, William Clarence Green of New Richmond, WI, at the place where they met, Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, SC. Over the following 52 years, they lived in Germany, Greece, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and, ultimately, Alabama. While overseas, the family was blessed with three more sons.
Anne was a talented and professional registered nurse for nearly 40 years. She was able to work in virtually any field of medicine, especially preferring hospital emergency rooms, where her skill, compassion, and desire for new and interesting challenges became most apparent. She was an avid lover of animals, who took in (and spoiled) many pets over the course of her life, and her love of books was legendary; a voracious reader, she filled numerous bookcases with the books she read.
As dedicated as she was to her profession, though, Anne’s true vocation was taking care of the family she loved above all else. Those in her life, especially the ones closest to her, knew that there was noting in the world she would not do for her husband, her five sons, and their families. She brought many of the same qualities to her relationships with her friends.
A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, as well as a woman of courage, conviction, and faith, Anne is deeply and sorely missed by all whom she loved. She leaves behind a legacy of unconditional love, unwavering emotional strength and support, and a bottomless, though underrated, capacity for appreciating the humor in just about any situation.
Anne was preceded in death by her first husband, William Ernest Gibbs, parents, Mary (DeTemple) and Marion Foster, and stepfather William DeTemple.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 52 years, William Clarence Green; five sons, William Ernest Green (Abbie) of Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, Michael Lee Green (Claudia) of Huntsville, AL, John Richard Green (Julie) of Decatur, AL, Patrick Shawn Green (Angela) of Huntsville, AL, and James David Green (fiancé, Findley Townsend) of Birmingham, AL. She also leaves behind 12 grandchildren, William Green (Sarah), Harrison Green (Rose), Caroline Green, Charlotte Green, Cassandra Green, McKenna Green Brown (Daniel), Jacob Green, Anthony Green, Heather Green, Nyah Lang, Daisy Green, and Matthew Green. Her six great-grandchildren are Emaline Green, William Green, Henry Green, Mary Green, Ashton Revels, and Kherington Revels. She is also survived by her sister, Saundra (DeTemple) Callihan; nieces, Cindy and Cheryl Callihan; and nephew, Marty Callihan.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial donations be made to the Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church Building Fund.
