Verna Greene was born March 9, 1934, to Charles V. and Bernita (Marietta)
Pepper in Kendall, Kansas. She passed away at the age of 91 at St. Catherine’s
Hospital in Garden City, Kansas, with her family at her side.
She was born the second of five children. She faced adversity early in life which
shaped the person she became. With the death of her beloved mother while
barely a teenager herself, Verna came to appreciate the value of a close-knit, loving
family as her father, her sister, and she helped care for the younger siblings.
She attended a country school in Hamilton County, then another country school
in Satanta when her family moved to the Carbon Black Plant at Ryus, Kansas.
That is where she met the man she married, Paul Greene. Their relationship began
with a common love for music, and they filled their home with delightful living
room music throughout the years. With great joy they welcomed their children,
Charles, Jerry, Paula, and Leela into their family. As a married couple, they lived
in Satanta, Kansas, at the camp at Mobil Oil, and in Ulysses, Kansas. They were
married for fifty-two wonderful years.
Verna was a woman of many talents, and she did them all very well. She was an
artist who enjoyed pastels and oil painting. She was a cake decorator (including
elaborate wedding cakes), a baker, expert bread and pie maker, and an amazing
cook. She was a creative quilter, and seamstress, with the ability to make clothes
from a picture without a pattern. One of her specialties was crocheted name
doilies. She enjoyed growing flowers, vegetables, and canning produce to feed her
family. She was a self-taught pianist who played by ear and used every key on the
piano. She loved reading, especially God’s word. She authored a delightful book
of memoirs and compiled many scrapbooked photo albums. She treasured
hosting friends and family in her home.
She was involved in her community through serving at her church by teaching
Sunday school for children and teens, helping with Vacation Bible School, serving
on many committees, and participating with her family providing special music at
church on numerous occasions. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern
Star, the ladies’ auxiliary for the Masonic Lodge, and was a faithful member of
Country View Baptist Church. Her deep faith and her personal relationship with
Jesus was the most important thing in life to her.
Verna is survived by a sister, Violet Lighty of Choctaw, Oklahoma; a brother,
Verle (Marie) Pepper of Moline, Kansas; her four children, Charles (Mitsue)
Greene of Ulysses, Kansas; Jerry (Doris) Greene of Ulysses, Kansas; Paula (Irwin)
McClanahan of O’Neill, Nebraska; Leela (Michael) Zeeb of McMinnville,
Oregon; eleven grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren; and three
great-great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her parents; brother, Grant
Pepper; sister, Venita Chamberlain; grandson-in-law, Steven Rowlee; and her
beloved husband, Paul Greene.
Funeral service will be Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 2:00 PM at Country View Baptist Church in Ulysses, Kansas, with Pastor James Berry officiating. Interment will follow at the Ulysses Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, September 19, 2025, from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Ulysses with a prayer service beginning at 7:00 PM. Memorial contributions may be given to Country View Baptist Church in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant Ave, Ulysses, KS 67880. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.
