Arnold Green

Surrounded by friends and family, Arnold Harvey Green, passed away peacefully on the morning of Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 - corresponding to the Hebrew date of the 2nd of Iyar, 5785. Although he reunites in the next world with his beloved wife, Barbara, and his parents, Irving and Rose (may their memories be a blessing), he leaves behind his sole sister, Harriet, and three cherished sons, David, Jeffrey and Alan - not to mention grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends who will all miss him dearly. Arnie, as he was affectionately called by everyone he knew, was born in 1938 in Brooklyn, NY - and while his long, rich life took him many places, the inner Brooklynite never left him. After graduating from James Madison High School, he followed in his father’s footsteps and became a union electrician in 1957, eventually working his way up to foreman and working on some of NYC’s biggest buildings & infrastructure projects, such as the famed World Trade Center, the Milford Plaza hotel, as well as various subway junctions and city airports. He loved telling stories about his time on the job, where he proudly put in 43 years as a Journeyman for IBEW Local #3. Somehow, he also found time to serve our country in the Coast Guard as a Fireman Apprentice, and was honorably discharged in 1958. He married his soulmate Barbara in 1961, after she approached him to rent a rental car for him in Miami (this was before he “knew-a-guy” - his friend Morty - at Enterprise). Together they raised three boys with overflowing, if sometimes tough, love. He often took them on electrical jobs, so they could learn from their father, just as he did. He remained a wealth of knowledge until the very end, and could be observed holding a ladder & supervising home projects well into his 80’s. His sons (whom he often called “Butch”) attribute their success to their desire to make their parents proud, which they did with wild success, yet remain convinced they barely scratched the surface of his wisdom and know-how. Arnie was the epitome of a hard-working family man of mid-century America. When times became difficult, and electrical work was sparse, he took on other jobs to feed his family, including but not limited to: driving for a car service, printing wedding and Bar/Bat Mitzvah invitations, and process serving court summons in often creative ways (those stories were arguably the best of the bunch). Although not much of a gambling man himself, he even made extra income as the video guy for the immensely popular “Night at the Races” off-track-betting events for the community, in which people would come together to bet on televised horse races. All that said, it wasn’t all work and no play… Arnie was a devoted father and husband, always making time for his family. He made sure to find the time to coach his boys’ Amity Little League baseball team, and his social calendar was always jam-packed with family gatherings, date nights, and parties - which he called “affairs”. We were lucky enough to have him at one last affair - his first grandson’s wedding, just a month before his passing. He lived a whole lot of life in the years since his kids grew up and left the nest. And while not all of it was easy, he took it all on the chin with an infectious smile on his face. Not only was he a board-member at his adult community of Cascade Lakes, Florida, he became the bona-fide mayor of the independent living facility in which he spent his final years; Grand Living in Sugar Land, Texas. Many of his neighbors recall that upon moving into the facility, he was the first guy you got to know. A back to back cancer fighter, Arnie was undoubtedly one of MD Andersen’s most famous - and miraculous - patients. He charmed everyone he spent time with - including doctors, nurses, hospital administrators - and even his own sons, daughters-in-law, and grandkids, who despite the rigor of constant caretaking, got to be reminded just how great it was to have Arnie close by. He was a particularly doting grandfather, always around for a phone call to schmooze or to visit a sporting event with the boys, and never too macho to dress up as a “pretty little princess” with the girls. Our words of affection for Arnie are endless, but can probably be summed up thusly: He was truly a one-of-a-kind mensch. When he was talking to you, he made you feel like there was nobody else in the room. The room is going to feel quite a bit emptier without his smile and laugh lighting it up, but he’ll always be on max voltage in our hearts. A funeral service took at 2:00 pm on Sunday, May 4, 2025, in the Kagan-Rudy Chapel at Emanu El Memorial Park, 8341 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas, 77074. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in memory of Arnold Green to MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210-4486 or www.MDAnderson.org/gifts

Arnold Green

February 3, 1938 - April 30, 2025