Dr. Ernest "Ri" Rinaldo Greene Jr.

Ernest Rinaldo “Ri” Greene, junior, M.D., Ph.D, age 70 of Mountain Brook, passed away from complications due to pulmonary fibrosis at Duke University on September 27, 2011. He was born in Mobile, AL on January 26, 1941.

Survived by his wife of 44 years, Lois Ellen Laura Zullig Greene and his four children: Laura Rolinha Greene Silsbee (Mead); Ernest Rinaldo Greene, III; Ellen Victoria Greene Miles (Nick); Max McKeen Greene and his four grandchildren: William Parker Mead Silsbee, IV; Charles Byron Silsbee; Lassiter Jeremiah Silsbee; Nicholas Daniel Miles, jr. ; his mother, Dorris Lassiter Greene and sister, Susan Greene Pitts.

He is preceded in death by his father, Ernest Rinaldo Greene; his grandchildren Mary and Joseph Silsbee; his parents-in-law, Max and Mary Zullig;.

He received his Chemical Engineering, B.A. and B.S. degrees from Rice University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. He received his M.D. degree from Washington University. His residency in Anesthesiology was completed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was a member of the following honor societies: Tau Beta Pi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Sigma Xi, and Sigma Tau. He was a member of: American Institute of Chemical Engineering, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and International Anesthesia Research Society.

He was an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency and then taught engineering at UAB. After completing his medical training in St. Louis, he worked 29 years as an anesthesiologist in Alabama. He was also a Board Certified Medical Acupuncturist. He had numerous books, chapters, articles and research published.

He was a member of: Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, General Society of the War of 1812, Huguenot Society of S.C., and Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Ri was a Renaissance man with a unique sense of humor. He wrote, studied and spoke extensively on: genealogy, science and math, Chinese, Spanish and French languages and culture, self-defense, electronics, cosmetics, gardening, cooking, literature, theology, music and the arts. Above all he loved his family. His high standards of morality and his sense of duty and ethics enriched and strengthened their lives. He is loved and admired by family, friends and colleagues.

Ri fought a noble battle for his health during the past year following his lung transplant at Duke.

Services are under the direction of Ridout’s Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood. Visitation will be held Monday, October 3rd from 5:00-7:30pm. The funeral service and celebration of Ri’s life will be held Tuesday, October 4th at 1:00pm at Highland’s United Methodist Church followed by his burial at Elmwood Cemetary. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in his memory to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.