Earl L. Green, 95
BOYCE, Va. - Earl L. Green, 95, of 1401 Kennel Road, died Sunday, May 8, 2011, at the home of Kevin Green and David Thaxton.
He was born in Williamstown, Mass. on June 14, 1915, the son Earl and Mary Donovan Green. He was a graduate of the former Williamstown High School, class of 1933.
He was employed for many years in the Power Transformer Division of the General Electric Company's former Pittsfield, Mass. location, where he led the team that developed the rheostat light switch.
He served several terms on the North Adams City Council. He was the president of the North Adams unit of the Catholic War Veterans and was active in Saint Francis Parish and Springfield Diocese affairs, including the diocesan school board. He was one of the founders of Boy Scout Troup 36 North Adams. He was awarded the St. George Cross for his contribution to scouting. He was a member of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and a 4th degree Knight of Columbus. He was also an active member of the Williamstown American Legion Post #152 and VFW Post #8304.
Mr. Green was a proud and decorated veteran of World War II. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. While posted in England before the invasion, as a demolition expert he defused an unexploded V-1 Buzz Bomb.
He participated in the D-Day Landings of World War II. In June 1944, he landed on Normandy Beach and fought across France to Belgium to the Battle of the Bulge. He later participated in the liberation of Russian soldiers in Nuremberg. During this European service, he received four Battle Stars. While his unit suffered high casualties he never lost a man under his command.
While on a trip to Normandy in 1999 with his wife, Frances, he was awarded the medal of peace by the Museum in Caen, for his efforts on behalf of the liberation of the French people.
He loved sports and was an avid outdoorsman. He spent many weekends on his Lyman fishing boat, the "MS 3 EG," which he kept in Essex, Mass. He also enjoyed golf, and in his retirement spent many hours on the Spessard Holland Golf Course in Melbourne Beach, Fla., where he lived.
While in Florida, he was on the building committee for Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, Orlando Diocese, and was active in parish activities. He later lived in Reston, Va., before settling back in Williamstown until he moved to Boyce in 2009.
He was married to Frances Walshe Green for 66 years. She died Dec. 5, 2007.
Survivors include his sons James Green of McLean, Gerard (Chuck) Green of Fort Pierce, Fla.; Kevin Green of Boyce, Shaun Green of Dunstable, Mass., daughter Mary Garofano of Pittsfield, Mass., sister Helen Lefave, Lenox, Mass., and five grandchildren.
He was predeceased by three infant children, his brothers Francis, Harold and William, and sisters Mary Lou Parisien, Elizabeth Diaz and Myrtle O’Hare.
FUNERAL NOTICE - A Mass of Christian Burial and Liturgy will be celebrated Tuesday, May 17, at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, Williamstown, Mass. A burial with full military honors will follow in Southview Cemetery, North Adams, Mass.
Calling hours will be at the Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Home, West Chapel, 521 West Main St., North Adams, Mass., on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m.
Memorial donations are suggested for the Williamstown American Legion Post Fund for Veterans Assistance, Elder Services of Berkshire County food assistance program, and the Blue Ridge Hospice of Winchester Virginia in care of the Funeral Home.