Randolph Berry Green, 96, of Rome, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Monday April 23,
2018 at Seven Hills Place surrounded by family and less than a mile from his boyhood home on
the Berry College campus. Randolph was born on May 20, 1921 in Mount Berry, Georgia. He
was the third son of Gardner Leland Green and Flora Humphrey Green, whom Martha Berry
recruited in 1920 to move from Vermont Agricultural College to the Berry Schools where
Gardner became principal and took a leading role in establishing Berry College. Randolph was
nurtured by a loving family and Ms. Berry’s team of visionaries devoted to the idea of making
an education available to those of lesser means in rural areas who, at that time, had little, if any,
access to education beyond the primary grades. With his many campus buddies, Randolph
roamed the woods, fields and mountains at Berry, chased deer and rabbits, and worked on
construction crews for some of the large college buildings being built to fulfill Martha Berry’s
long-term campus design. Randolph began his schooling in the Roosevelt Cabin at Berry and
attended Berry all the way through college, from which he graduated with a B.S. in chemistry.
Randolph was blessed with a sunny disposition. This was certainly due in part to genetics but
also in large part to growing up at Berry during the 1920s and 1930s. What child would not be
inspired as the Berry College Chapel, the first dorms and large classroom buildings, the Ford
Buildings, Frost Chapel, and Victory Lake were built around him? Or as Martha Berry attracted
visitors such as Henry Ford and Amelia Earhart to speak on campus? Or as the college grew in
stature and influence to attract so many fine students and faculty? Randolph’s childhood at
Berry was a life-long inspiration for him and gave him purpose and direction.
Another source of inspiration for Randolph was Dr. Charles Proctor, a dentist from Tufts
University in Boston who, at Martha Berry’s urging, held an annual dental clinic on the Berry
campus for those lacking access to good dental care (a common circumstance in rural areas at
the time). With Dr. Proctor as mentor, Randolph attended Northwestern University Dental
School in Chicago. World War II broke out shortly after he began school, and like almost
everyone in his class, Randolph joined the armed service, in his case the U.S. Navy. When he
completed his dental studies, he served as a Lieutenant in the Navy dental corps for the
remainder of the war, with tours of duty aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge.
After the war, a strong sense of place drew Randolph back to Rome and Mount Berry to
establish a dental practice in which he was active into his 90s. Randolph joined Rome’s First
United Methodist Church and its choir in which he sang baritone for over 60 years. At church,
he met and fell in love with Hannah Rebecca Manis from Subligna, Georgia. Randolph and
Rebecca were married on June 24, 1951 in Berry Chapel and went on to raise three children
and enjoy innumerable activities together and with their friends during their 64-year marriage,
such as the Dental Supper Club, the Rome Sailing Club, camping in the mountains, travel, and
the First United Methodist Church. Randolph had a close coterie of fishing buddies who loved
getting together in the North Georgia mountains, Appalachicola, Tellico River, and Alaska to fish
for trout and salmon. Community activities Randolph found particularly meaningful were the
Exchange Club for which he oversaw the photography and art exhibit at the Annual Fair and
helped support the Family Resource Center, Rome’s Free Dental Clinic, the Boys and Girls
Clubs, and the Berry College Alumni Association for which he was a past President.
Ever the optimist, Randolph always radiated a confidence that things were just going to work
out fine somehow if people were kind to each other. “Soliloquy,” a poem by Randolph's father
captures something basic about Randolph’s benevolence: “They might need help from even
me;/ I’ll bare my heart to let them see/The loving kindness lurking there;/It might be the answer
to their prayer.”
Randolph was pre-deceased by his wife Rebecca, who died on February 22, 2015, his brothers
Gardner and Gordon, sister Virginia Matheny, and several close relatives. He is survived by his
daughter Susan Rebecca Green; his daughter Ginger Green Rowston and Ginger’s husband
Joe, of Rome, Georgia, and their children Gillis Talley Rowston, of Chattanooga, Tennessee,
Hannah Green Rowston, of Los Angeles, California, and William Joseph Rowston III, of Rome,
Georgia; his son Richard Leland Green and Richard’s wife Susan, of Alexandria, Virginia, and
their children Rebecca Fields and Ann Elisabeth of Washington, D.C; and many nieces,
nephews, and other relatives.
Randolph wanted special thanks to be given to his patients for their allowing him the honor and
privilege of serving them. When he “retired” in 1993, he missed his patients very much and
soon returned to practicing dentistry on a part-time basis for over twenty years, most recently as
a fill-in for his dentist colleagues when they were sick, on vacation or otherwise unavailable.
The family extends special thanks to all the staff of Seven Hills Place who provided such loving
care for Randolph in his final year. They and Randolph laughed together and kidded each other
and generally kept each other smiling. We can’t thank them enough. They do God’s work. The
family also extends a special thanks to nephew David Matheny who was a steadfast friend to
Randolph in his declining years and is a perfect embodiment of Christian caritas. The family
also wants to thank Brookdale Senior Living Center, Pruitt Hospice, Harbin Clinic, and Floyd
Medical Center for care they provided Randolph.
A Visitation is scheduled for Friday April 27, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in the Wilder Center at First
United Methodist in Rome followed by a Memorial Service in the sanctuary at 5:00 p.m.
The family respectfully suggests that memorial contributions be made to Berry College Attn: The
Gardner Leland Green Chair of Education or Rome First United Methodist Church.
Daniel’s Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements.
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