Ronald Ames Green

March 10, 1930 – July 8, 2026

Ronald Ames Green was born on March 10, 1930, in Fulton, AR, and died at home in Texarkana on July 8, 2026. He was the first child of the marriage between Oscar Daniel Green and Maude Ludean Kesner Pate. With three older stepsiblings and four younger sisters, Ronald grew up as one of eight children on the farm in Fulton that his parents bought when he was seven years old. Ronald’s father died when Ronald was nine years old.

Life on the farm was difficult. It required a lot of hard work from everyone in the family. Until his dying day, Ronald wanted to have nothing more to do with farming, not even a patio tomato.

Ronald served in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Puerto Rico as a lifeguard. (Having grown up on the banks of the Red River, he could swim and dive like a fish.) He was honorably discharged and sent home at the request of his mother so that he could help with the farm.

Soon after returning from Puerto Rico, he met Donna Cherry, the love of his life. They had four children: Gary, Kimi, Ronnie, and Clark, who have produced thirteen grandchildren, who have produced twenty-one great-grandchildren. Donna passed away earlier this year after 73+ years of marriage.

Ronald had a mechanical mind. He could fix anything. He plowed mules on the farm and worked on the tractor; lived alongside sharecroppers. He worked in the auto parts business, which introduced him to the small engine business. He opened his own small engine parts distribution business in the 1970s with a partner and managed the business until he retired.

In his 96 years, he was always a gentleman; would tell you that he wished he had been born rich rather than so good looking; never needed a cell phone; never complained; never shirked a duty; never lived in an air-conditioned home until he was in his forties; never dodged a kid’s questions:

Why did you kill that bug?

I didn’t want it to suffer.

Why did the gunman (in the Texas clock tower) shoot all those people?

Some people are just crazy.

What do I do if he bullies me?

You bloody his nose.

He was good at cutting out: “Gary should be a lawyer; Kimi, a teacher; Ronnie, a banker; and Clark, a doctor”. But he also trusted us to make our own important decisions- he’d listen, but not weigh in.

He was cogent. After fretting with the aftermath of a car wreck in which no one was terribly injured, “It’s only a car”.

“Why would you want to throw money away into that pinball machine?”

If you played cards or dominoes with him, you soon realized he kept up and would quickly tell you what the last hand would be.

The only time he ever scolded us was when Nonna told him to, or if we folded a hand out of turn, drew to an inside straight, or held an ace kicker.

He taught us that if you can break even, it's a good run.

Special thanks to the caregivers who provided excellent care toward the end of both of their lives: Rhonda Miller, Deborah Moore, Judy Gossett, and Enhabit Hospice.

The family will have a private Celebration of Life at a later date.

Courtesy of Texarkana Funeral Home.