David Lee Green, age 87, of Jasper

David Lee Green, age 87, of Jasper, Indiana, formerly of Tucson, Arizona, passed away on Sabbath, Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the Timbers of Jasper.

He was born on Sabbath, Saturday, May 1, 1937, to Ralph Woodrow and Cecelia (Pierce) Green, at St. Francis Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa.

David graduated from Jesup High School in 1955 and joined the Navy in January of 1956.  He served as a Disbursing Clerk, managing payroll for the men on a Naval Destroyer.  While on the Destroyer, in the middle of the Pacific, he was able to witness testing for the Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs.  He was discharged from the Navy in December of 1959.

After returning home to Waterloo, he fell in love at first sight with Tamra Joy Bukatz, and they were married on April 23, 1960.  Colette, their daughter, was born on January 23, 1961.

Dave and Tammy worked as Cottage Parents at the State Juvenile Home in Toledo, Iowa.  On January 21, 1962, their son Eric Tyrone Green was born.  By spring of 1962, they were ready to move on, so they loaded up their car with a few of their belongings and moved out to Tucson, Arizona.

David tried several different jobs but hated them all.  His wife Tammy encouraged him to go to the local newspaper to apply for a job as a reporter, because he loved to write.  He felt completely inadequate for such a thing, as he had not been to college or had any professional writing experience but his wife continued to press and encourage him.  Once he got to the newspaper, he gained new courage, and was not deterred by their initial denial to give him a job.  He told them that he would sit on the bench outside the office, every day, until they gave him a job.  About 3 or 4 days later, they got sick of his refusal to leave and gave him a chance to write the weather report.  After some time, he graduated to obituaries and eventually had the opportunity to become a police reporter.  While in this position, he started to do stories on the mafia and crime boss, Joe Bonanno, who lived in Tucson.  David excelled at this work and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious writing award given to journalists.

By 1970, David had also found himself on a deep spiritual quest.  Through a series of events, and much personal bible study, he came to the conviction about the importance of the 7^th day Sabbath as listed in the ten commandments.

He was baptized on May 29, 1971, left his very successful reporting career, loaded up his family, and moved to Southern College in Collegedale, Tennessee, to study for the ministry.  During this time, they were blessed when Kent Michael, their son, was born on October 21, 1973.  After leaving college, David became a pastor in Towson, Maryland, and eventually became an evangelist for Amazing Facts with Joe Crews.  He then pastored churches in Sioux City and Waterloo, Iowa.  David served as Pastor and Evangelist for 10 years.

But sometimes life throws a curve ball, even gets messy, and in 1981, David followed after temptation and wandered away from his family and his job of pastoring.

When things didn’t work out as he had planned and he was desperate for work, he moved back to Tucson to hook up with old news contacts.  He was able to get work as a speech writer for the Editorial comments each night on Tucson’s KOLD nightly news broadcast.

In 1994, David was brought to repentance and into a fresh, new relationship with the Lord.  Sometime after that, a close group of friends rented a building and encouraged David to preach to them each week.  Within time, he was the full-time pastor for The Church of the Everlasting Gospel.

In 2001, he married Dr. Jane Stump.  After her death, he continued in his position as pastor until he retired and moved to Jasper, Indiana in October of 2021, to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law.

He loved his retirement years in Jasper with his family.

David passed away on Sabbath, February 1, 2025.

He is survived by his daughter, Colette (Clay) Doss of Jasper; his sons, Kent Michael (Erika) Green of Maynard, Iowa and Michael Dennis Green of Tucson, Arizona; ten grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and his son, Eric Green.

Friends may call for visitation at the Nass and Son Funeral Home in Huntingburg from 10:00-11:00 a.m., E.D.T., on Monday, February 10, 2025, followed by funeral services held at 11:00 a.m.  Burial will take place at Mayo Cemetery near Duff with military graveside rites conducted by the V.F.W. Post 2366 Memorial Detail and the Naval Funeral Honors Detail.  Condolences may be shared online at:  www.nassandson.com