Local Business Giant, WWII Purple Heart Recipient Harry Green Passes Away at 87
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on April 06, 2013
Harry joined the U. S. Marine Corps after graduating from Bridgeport High School in 1943. He was assigned to the Fifth Marine Division, going to Iwo Jima during WWII. He was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in action on March 9, 1945.
Attending West Virginia University from 1945 to 1947, Harry was a member of the freshman basketball team and Beta Theta Phi fraternity. It was at WVU that he met Jonnie Mae from Madison, West Virginia, the love of his life and wife of sixty-five years. They were married in December 1947. Harry completed his education at Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated in 1949.
Harry and Jonnie had four children: Karen, Peggy, Hal, and Chris (deceased). They settled in Bridgeport in 1959, and Harry opened Harry Green Chevrolet automobile dealership, on U. S. Route 50, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He had been working for ten years before that in the automobile business, starting in 1949 with his father-in-law, in Madison, West Virginia. He subsequently managed Midway Chevrolet, in Whitesville, WV, from 1950 to 1953, and Riverside Motor Co., in Madison, WV, from 1956 to 1959.
A past president of the Harrison County Automobile Dealers’ Association and the West Virginia Automobile Dealers and Truck Dealers Association, Harry was named the 1986 West Virginia Automobile Dealer of the Year by Time magazine.
In 2007, Harry was named the Honorary Italian Man of the Year for the Italian Heritage Festival, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Over the years, he was very active and had leadership roles in many Harrison County community organizations: Bridgeport PTA; Harrison County Chamber of Commerce, as a member since 1959, and a recipient of the Lifetime Commitment Award in 2008, and a New Century Partner; Clarksburg Rotary Club, as a member since 1959 and president in 1965-1966; Girl Scouts of America; Boy Scouts of America, as a president of the Central West Virginia Boy Scouts Council and recipient of the Silver Beaver Award; Harrison County YMCA, as a founding father and first president; and the United Way.
Harry had been a member of Simpson Creek Baptist Church for over fifty years. He was a Sunday school teacher for a time and loved reading and studying the Bible.
Harry and Jonnie were “snowbirds,” spending the winters in Florida and the rest of the year in Bridgeport. Along with his passion for golf, Harry enjoyed watching WVU Mountaineers, playing bridge, reading, and spending time with his family.
He is survived by his wife, Jonnie Green, of Bridgeport, WV; three children: Karen Watson (Rick); Peggy Green (Kevin); and Hal Green (Sandy); five grandchildren; one sister; and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the in-home caregivers and UHC People’s Hospice.
Friends will be received at Burnside Funeral Home, 607 S. Virginia Ave., Bridgeport, on Monday, April 8, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mr. Green will lie in state at the Simpson Creek Baptist Church, 231 W. Philadelphia Ave., Bridgeport, for one hour prior to the service at 11 a.m., Tuesday, April 9, 2013, with Rev. Dr. C. Michael Hopkins presiding. Interment will follow in Bridgeport Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the charity of your choice. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.burnsidefuneralhome.com