Phyllis Green

Obituary

Phyllis Jeanette Martin Green was born November 3, 1930, in Elkhart County in northern Indiana, to Joseph L. and Mabel Martin. She passed away on March 15, 2025, at Monument Health in Rapid City, surrounded by family.

Phyllis spent her early childhood in northern Indiana close to her extended family. In 1936, Joe moved the family to Gordon, Nebraska, where they farmed with Joe’s uncle. They moved back to Indiana in 1939, but returned to Gordon in 1944. Phyllis graduated from Gordon High School in 1949. She attended Goshen College (IN) for one year, and completed her education at Chadron State Teachers College in Nebraska.

She married another Chadron State graduate from Gordon, Troy Green, on August 14, 1954. Troy’s job with Standard Oil of Indiana (later Amoco) moved them to Mandan, North Dakota, where Troy was a chemist at the new oil refinery. For a brief time, Phyllis taught elementary school in Bismarck, ND. They later moved to a home outside of Bismarck, where they lived until their four children were school-aged, when they moved into Bismarck.

Troy’s career adventures with Amoco took the family to Wales, Iran, Chicago, and Egypt, with Bismarck remaining the home base between stints. When Troy retired from Amoco, he and Phyllis traveled extensively in the US and internationally, including a trip to South America and Antarctica to fulfill Troy’s wish to visit every continent.

In 2004, they sold their Bismarck home and moved back to Nebraska, where they lived in the home her parents built after their retirement. Phyllis enjoyed maintaining her mother’s garden. They were both involved in the Gordon Lions Club and at First Presbyterian Church.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Troy (d. 2015) and her sister Dorothy. She is survived by her sister Nancy, her four children Susan (Scott Simpson), Martin, Carolyn, and Ed (Angie May), and four grandchildren (Katie and Troy Simpson and Ren and Miles Green).

A graveside service will be held on April 1. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the First Presbyterian Church of Gordon, 136 N. Oak Street, Gordon, NE 69343.