SUMNER — Albert Donald Greene peacefully went to be with the Lord on October 28, 2023, surrounded by family.
Visitation will be held 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, at Sumner Baptist Church in Sumner with services following at 2 p.m. Graveside services will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Sumner.
Born to Albert Lowrey Greene and Annie Louise Greene on December 18, 1931, he was born in the same house and same room that his father had previously been born in. His family later moved to Sumner where he grew up on Cassidy Bayou and was known as Dewey by his friends. He lettered 4 years in basketball, baseball, and football prior to graduating from Sumner High School.
After high school he attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College prior to joining the United States Marine Corps and becoming a radio chief. While in the service he married Joan Braswell from Clarksdale on February 17, 1953. He rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant and participated in Operation Tumbler-Snapper (atomic bomb test in 1952).
After his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, he went to electronic technician school in Kansas City, Mo. Upon completion of school he returned to Clarksdale to raise a family (3 sons and 2 daughters) and open his business (Albert’s Radio and TV) on Fourth Street. He was a fixture at the local sports field as he coached or cheered his children and grandchildren on. He could spin a yarn with the best of them. Some we still believed until getting together as a family after he passed. He never met a stranger and could talk with anyone. He loved to laugh and joke. No waitress was immune from his hijinks, and the better they could give it back, the better he tipped them. He got a kick out of telling the Walmart greeters “Don’t tell me what kind of day to have, I’ll have any kind of day I want to have,” always with a smile on his face. He later became active in AA working with many people to aid in their recovery.
During his retirement he travelled the US extensively and moved to Water Valley, Enid, and of recent, Hot Springs Village, Ark.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Annie and Lowrey Greene; his wife of 37 years, Joan Braswell Greene; and his youngest son, David Ryan Greene.
He is survived by his son, Donald Rodney (Sherry) Greene of Memphis, Tenn.; daughters, Candace Lee (Keith) Tollet of Ozark, Mo., and Nancy Camille (Stanley) Fortner of Courtland; son, George Lowrey (Cyndi) Greene of Montgomery, Texas; 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild, a niece and several nephews, and his partner of 4 years, Phyllis Costea of Hot Springs Village, Ark.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.newsomfuneralhome.com.
