Carleton Hilding Reynold Green

Carl was born on September 7, 1932 in San Francisco, California, the first son of Hilding Reynold “Ray” and Louise Harriman Green. Ray was a Chief Commissary Steward in the Navy, and the young family moved often, including to Panama and Norfolk, Virginia. As a child, Carl often crooned himself to sleep, earning him the life-long nickname “Bing.” When Ray retired in 1945, they settled in Redondo Beach where Carl’s grandmother lived.

Carl attended Redondo Union High School, lettering in football and tennis. He and Ruth were in the same church youth group and were also partners in Chemistry class; you could say they had a real chemistry! They were married on June 21, 1952 after a year of commuting between Santa Barbara and Hermosa Beach. They set up housekeeping in Santa Barbara and attended UCSB. Four children, a stint in the Army in Korea, and much love and laughter followed. Last year Ruth and Carl celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary.

Carl was initially interested in a printing career, but one of his instructors in his printing courses at Harbor CC encouraged him to get a college degree. Carl became a first-generation college student, receiving his B.A. in Industrial Arts from UCSB. Eventually he went on to earn his M.A. from CSULB and his Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from USC. He was forever grateful for the GI Bill, which financed his education.

Always a popular, but demanding, teacher at Aviation High School, Carl first taught print shop, then World History and Psychology. He also put his printing knowledge to work as the school yearbook advisor. Many of his students stayed in touch with him long after their graduation.

With his good friend and colleague Bill Sanford, Carl wrote two textbooks, Basic Principles of American Government, and Psychology, a Way to Grow. In addition, they authored over 170 high-interest non-fiction books for reluctant readers.

Carl passed away on December 5, 2019 in Lomita, California. He is survived by his wife Ruth, his brother Ken, his children Christopher, Leslie, Roxanne and Evan, and by his grandchildren Andrew, Rebecca, Melissa, Lauren, Bethany, Innis, Aaron, Evangeline and Valerie. We will miss his humor, his sharp intellect and his undying love for Ruth and for his family and friends.