Bobby Ray Green

ROUND ROCK —Bobby Ray Green, a longtime resident of Tyler, Texas, went home to be with His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 24, 2023. His memorial will be held at 3:00 pm, Saturday January 27th, 2024, Lanes Chapel Methodist Church, 8720 Old Jacksonville Hwy, Tyler, Texas.

Bob was born on October 2, 1945, in Lindale, Texas, to Sibyl Jean Christian Green and Buel Ray Green. He is survived by his wife, Loree, of Round Rock, Texas; children, Kim Green, of Arlington, Texas, Kristen, and husband Michael Thomas of Benbrook, Texas; Whitney Davis of Round Rock, and Emily and husband, Tyler Van Aken of Vieques, Puerto Rico; four grandchildren, Carson and Willow Davis, and Colin and Whitney Thomas; two nieces, Kelli Lawless of Houston, Texas, and Kammi Estelle of Cypress, Texas.

Bob, or “Butch,” as his family lovingly referred to him, grew up with his mother and stepdad, Leo M. Hall, and sister, Carrinell, in Lake Jackson, Texas. He graduated from Brazosport High School in 1964 where his love of the Lord, family, friends, and sports was nurtured. Bob later graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a BBA degree.

While at Stephen F. Austin State University, intramural sports dominated his extra- curricular activities, and his SFA Intramural Championship shirt colors were varied as he managed to garner championships in football, basketball, fast-pitch softball, table tennis, and even badminton. Bob was an exceptional athlete.

His passion for sports also included sports officiating which extended into the community where he lived. Bob was a local chapter member of the Texas Association of Sports Officials where he officiated both basketball and football and umpired softball and baseball in East Texas for several years. In 2021 Bob was honored by being inducted into the Tyler Area Basketball Officials Hall of Fame.

Bob also coached his children in baseball, soccer, and volleyball. Coaching was only one aspect of Bob’s role as a father. His foremost gift and the one where he excelled was being a loving father, and grandfather. In a devotional by Paul W. Powell, the pastor who Bob served with as Minister of Recreation, Dr. Powell writes, “Someone said, ‘Raising children is part joy and part jungle warfare.’ Being a parent is a challenging task… [Children] need rules that are fair and consistently enforced. Most of all they need a personal faith in the Lord.” Bob was always available, always present for his children and grandchildren when they needed him; creating the time to encourage and support them. His unconditional love for his family and his personal faith in the Lord guided him throughout his life.

Bob was “born again” as a child of God, and this began the pattern for his life as he followed God’s commandment of love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Bob’s love for God guided his life as he practiced this love through ministry to others, and his heart for people formed the foundation to make him successful in his life’s work of ministry.

His gift of ministry was exemplified in the churches where he served. As Minister of Recreation at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, his service within the church, as well as the community at large, brought many people to faith and salvation in the Lord. Bob’s time as Minister of Education at Noland Road Baptist Church in Independence, MO opened new ministry opportunities for him. His time of ministry at Lane’s Chapel Methodist Church in Tyler moved Bob into his true calling for pastoral ministry by serving as Director of Pastoral Care. Bob’s love for people fully blossomed following his retirement when he became a Hospice Chaplain for Choice Hospice of Tyler as well as serving as volunteer chaplain for Tyler Police Department and Smith County Sheriff’s Department.

After moving from Tyler to Round Rock earlier this year, Bob continued demonstrating his love for the Lord by attending and becoming active in Central Baptist Church, and he frequently gave devotionals at the retirement community where he resided. Bob never met a stranger, always engaging everyone he encountered, from the person who took his order at Whataburger to his fellow golfers at Oakhurst Golf Course.

Bobby Ray Green fulfilled God’s purpose for his life on this earth and lived by this scripture: “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).