Legacy honored

CLOVIS — The impact Bishop Charles Green and Mother Ange Green had on the Clovis community is still being felt today, proven by the over 100 people who packed the Ingram Room at the Clovis/Carver Public Library for their memorial on Saturday.

Charles Green, who became the pastor at the First Church of God in Christ in 1957, and Ange Green, who taught for over 27 years at Highland Elementary and served as co-pastor, were celebrated for their decades of service to the Clovis community.

"The Greens exemplify a family that sets the right example," Clovis Mayor David Lansford said. "This community on its outskirts has a placard that says 'community for family,' and no family like the Green family has been as extremely productive and have such an impact for so many years, as the Green family."

Ange Green died in 2014. Charles Green died in 2016.

In his remarks to the crowd Lansford listed off the numerous community groups Charles Green assisted including the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and serving as chaplain for the Clovis Police Department and Plains Regional Medical Center.

"That is a life of service, almost unmatched in his day," Lansford said.

With more people in attendance at the memorial than available seats, the impact of that work is still apparent today.

"It just means that his life work is effective and it's still working and it's a living legacy," daughter Angela Clark said. "Even though he's gone, his legacy is living on in everyone who showed up today."

Ange Green was celebrated for her career as a teacher and her passion for speaking and singing.

Together the Greens were honored for their work with the First Church of God in Christ, as Clovis City Commissioner Sandra Taylor-Sawyer said they were the longest couple to head a church in Clovis.

At the end of the ceremony, a bust featuring the likenesses of Charles and Ange Green was unveiled, which Taylor-Sawyer said was paid for by private donations.

The bust will remain at the library for the years to come.

"To house the bust the bust in a community area so that everybody would have the opportunity (to see it), I just think it's an honor and I'm thankful for it," daughter Beverly Howard said.

Howard said the large turnout on Saturday speaks to the way her parents inspired others to live their lives in a way that honors God.

"It tells us all that we all impact others whether we realize it our not," Howard said. "That's why it's so important that we live lives in a way that's respectful, loving and kind, so it's just a tribute to how they lived their lives and the reminder others are watching and will remember."

Clark said her parents would have appreciated the outpouring of love and support shown at Saturday's memorial.

"They would just be so honored and so humbled," Clark said. "This is why they lived their lives is so that they could affect other people for the better. The betterment of mankind, that's just who they are."