Earlean Greene

Earlean Bradford Greene, 91, was born on April 17, 1924 in Talladega, Alabama, the firstborn child of Charles Bradford and Emma Welch Bradford. The family moved to Anniston, Alabama when she was a small child. She attended Grace Lutheran School and graduated from Cobb High School in 1942. She attended Alabama State University in Montgomery before leaving school to marry. She would return to Grace Lutheran School to teach briefly before moving to Detroit in the late 1940’s. She would proudly call Detroit her home for the rest of her life.

In Detroit, initially she lived with her “other parents” Uncle Mitchell and Aunt Otha Welch. She met and married Henry J. Greene and they lived on Belvidere Street for more than 50 years. He preceded her in death in 2008. She was also preceded in death by her parents, all of her aunts and uncles, brother C.L. Bradford and grandson Harry J. Greene. After staying home with her children for several years, she went to work as a teachers’ aide at Chandler Elementary School. She became actively involved in The Para-Professional Teachers’ Union of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and was asked to take an administrative job with the union. She quickly showed aptitude for leadership and was elected President of the Detroit Para-Professional Union (AFT), a job she loved so much that she worked years beyond normal retirement age.

She loved the City of Detroit and was very involved in local politics and efforts to promote the city. In particular she held leadership positions in The Belvidere Block Club for many years and was active in the local Democratic Party. She loved to decorate for the holidays especially Christmas and Easter. Each year she would transform her yard into a virtual North Pole/Manger Scene for the Yuletide Season and was very distressed when she could no longer continue this holiday tradition. Conversation was her sport of choice and she would engage you in debate on any given subject. Another passion was fashion and she loved to dress to the nines.

She was a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (later Genesis) and a Sunday school teacher for many years until health issues prevented her involvement.

She leaves to morn her death, sister Cathryn Wood of Detroit; sister-in-law Lucille Bradford of Anniston; son Thomas Earl Bostic of Anniston; daughter Janet Welch Bennett M.D. (Ronnie) of Noblesville, Indiana; son Harry Jerome Greene (Jeanie) of Detroit; son Derrick Maurice Greene (Angelina) of Detroit; “daughter” Ella Greene of Detroit; grandchildren Patrice, Thomas Earl Jr., Timothy, Te’verl, Charnita, Octavia, Ronika, Kimberly, Cameron, Shannon, Justin and Derrick II; 16 great grandchildren; many, many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and her best friend forever, Mrs. Dicie Carson as well as a host of friends and colleagues.

She waged a long and courageous battle with dementia which slowly but surely took much of what made her Earlean from her and from us. We thank God for the many good years of her life and pray that the more difficult years have made us wiser and stronger. She departed this dimension on Saturday evening, September 19, 2015 at home surrounded by family.