Richard Greene

Tribute

Richard Pappy Greene of Port Aransas, Texas, left for his eternal home with his beloved wife of 50 years by his side. He was able to die at home per his wishes and donated his whole body to ScienceCare. Pappy’s love of machines started when he was a toddler and continued throughout his lifetime. He started wrenching when he was 14, eventually becoming an ASE-certified master auto technician and owning and running Pappy Motive Services in Port Aransas for decades. He was well known to the working class as he created parts and kept older vehicles running so they could keep working. He loved racing and drag raced & raced on circle tracks, both dirt and asphalt. Pappy raced at the CC Speedway with an Opel GT minitruck, then a Mustang. The Opel sported a windup key on the back that turned while he raced. His Mustang had a horse's tail on the back that swished when he raced. He definitely brought his unique style to everything he did. He did all the work on his race car himself, from mechanical to body work to paint/ bodywork. He enjoyed the thrill of racing even when he didn't win. Competition fueled him, though he did love to win. He enjoyed the friends he made and all the time with the kids at the track. Pappy enjoyed having daughter Jennifer race at the track as well. His love of motorcycles and riding lasted a lifetime. He had many close friends that he rode with and also his wife and daughters behind him. While in Tennessee, he would ride Sharon around. Jennifer got her first motorcycle at age four. They spent a lot of time riding in Charlie's Pasture together back when it was still wild, not a nature preserve. Pam spent a lot of time riding on the back of his motorcycle with him, a closeness they shared throughout their marriage. Pappy was the kind of person that people came to with problems, and he would figure out a way to solve them. Not in the higher income bracket, he made and created whatever they wanted to have. Pappy took a school bus in 1981 and turned it into a customized RV that they lived in for three years. In 2004, he created HERRB, a Hurricane Evacuation Recreation Race Bus. HERRB was a short bus that he turned into an RV with a pickup bed that they used for racing and for evacuation. He had seen a vehicle for sale that could have been used for that for $60,000. He bought the bus for $4,500 and created it himself, all customized to their needs. He was most proud of his long marriage with Pam and his two girls, Sharon from his first brief marriage, and Jennifer. His girls meant the world to him. Pappy didn't make a fortune, didn't have a lot of higher education, but he could take a book, or later in life, the internet, and he could figure out anything. He was kind, loving, loyal, and funny. Pam said he made her laugh every day, and they had a true partnership that most couples never see. Pappy leaves behind a lifetime of memories to those who knew and loved him. Looking back over his lifetime, it was a life well lived.

Friends & Family

Pamela Greene, Sharon, Chris, William & Josh Conway, Elizabeth, Upton & Patrick Pearson, Courtney, Trent & Millie Fleming, Alexis, Jordan, Dominic & Juliette Ruiz, Valoria Green.