Urban Green

Urban Green, 84, arrived at his eternal home on Monday, April 6, 2015 after an extended illness. He was born in Enid, OK on Sept. 8, 1930 to Mersa and Arthur Green. He grew up on a farm outside Carney, OK, where he graduated from high school in 1948 and where he accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior the same year.

He married the love of his life Loretta Mae Rust on October 22, 1958, and for 53 years they experienced many adventures before she went to be with the Lord in 2012. Together they left a legacy to their sons Bryan (Laura) and Bruce (Ruth), grandchildren Kyle (Ashley), Kevin (Ashley), Kellisha, Brittany, Brandon and Brady, and to their great grandchildren, Carter, Canton, Caden, Avery, Quinn and Macy of pursuing God’s will, serving always, and loving others as God intended.

He had a passion for education, earning bachelors and masters degrees from Oklahoma A&M (now Okla. State University), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Wesleyan University. He taught school in Craig and Pueblo, CO, in pastor schools in Ghana and Nigeria, at the Baptist College in Owerri, Nigeria, at Eastwood High School in Tulsa, OK, as an adjunct professor for Oklahoma Baptist University, and served as director of the Baptist Education Center in Tulsa.

His calling as a pastor led him to serve in churches in Fort Worth, TX, Dinosaur (Artesia), Craig and Pueblo, CO, Natchitoches, LA, and Glencoe, OK. Urban was licensed to the ministry by Southside Baptist Church in Stillwater, OK and he was ordained to the ministry by First Baptist Church Dinosaur, CO. His most cherished task was serving as a minister to his family, performing many weddings for his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and providing pastoral care in times of sorrow and happiness.

His mission for his Lord Jesus Christ led him to answer a call as a missionary in West Africa. He and Loretta were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in 1963 and they served for 22 years in Nigeria and later Ghana. He focused on church planting and development, and pastoral training. He performed relief work to refugees during the Nigerian Civil War from 1967-69 and during periods of famine in Ghana. He was later appointed to Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, serving in Tulsa, OK for 16 years until he retired in 2002.

In 1990 the City of Tulsa and Mayor Rodger Randle proclaimed March 11 as Urban and Loretta Green Day recognizing their efforts in West Africa. After his retirement from the North American Mission Board in 2002, he received a proclamation from the City of Tulsa and Mayor Bill LaFortune, a Citation of Appreciation from Sen. Maxine Horner and the Oklahoma State Senate, and a Governor’s Commendation from Gov. Frank Keating, all for his service in north Tulsa. And Urban was named Citizen of the Year for 2000 in Glenpool, OK, mainly for his efforts forming the Beeline Soccer Association in Glenpool in 1997 allowing thousands of children since to enjoy playing the game of soccer.

He loved his family, including his siblings who survive him Ramona (Gene) Price and Erlis (Sue) Green, and in-laws Rozella and Ernie Bays, Charlotte and Don Garrison, Louella Hall and Sharon Rust, and many nieces and nephews. And he is enjoying a reunion in heaven with his wife Loretta, parents Mersa and Arthur, in-laws Thelma and Charles Rust, brothers Jimmy and W.J. Green, and in-laws Don and Barbara Rust, Dale Rust and several nephews and nieces.

Special thanks to the staff at The Gardens in Sapulpa, OK for their care and friendship during his years of residency.

In his humble way, Urban summed up his life after the passing of Loretta by saying, “we had a good life, we were missionaries to Africa.”

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lottie Moon Missions Offering through First Baptist Church, Glenpool, OK.

Arrangements were entrusted to Schaudt’s Glenpool Funeral Service & Cremation Care. Family and friends may view the obituary and send condolences to the family online at www.schaudtfuneralservice.com