Obituary for Vera Meta Drew Green
GREEN, VERA META DREW, age 87, of Mt. Pleasant, MI, (formerly of New Era, MI) passed away Monday, November 11 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at Green Acres of Mt. Pleasant under the care of family, Elara Caring Hospice, and the very caring staff of Green Acres.
Per Vera's wishes, cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service is being planned for next summer. Memorial contributions may be made to the White Lake Area Food Pantry, c/o Lebanon Lutheran Church, 1101 S. Mears Ave., Whitehall, MI 49461. Envelopes will be available at Clark Family Funeral Chapel.
Vera was born May 7, 1932 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the daughter of Ezra and Evelyn (Fischer) Drew. The family later moved to South Beloit, Illinois where Vera grew up and graduated from high school.
After high school, she met and fell in love with Robert Green at a dance. After a brief courtship, they were married on Feb 23, 1952 in South Beloit, Illinois. They lived first in Beloit, WI, then moved to the Detroit area where their 3 children were born. Job opportunities took them to Whitehall, Michigan, their home for nearly 20 years. Bob was self-employed, with Vera being instrumental in running the business at home while caring for the children. Always ready for an adventure, they retired, bought a farm in New Era in the late 70’s, named it Evergreen Acres and lived there nearly 40 years, moving to Mt. Pleasant in 2016.
Vera and Bob had many adventures together. They took several trips to the Caribbean and traveled to Tahiti. They were avid bikers through much of their lives, traveling thousands of miles on bicycle trips through Wisconsin and other states. The biggest trip was months long, from Washington State to Los Angeles to attend the ’84 Olympics. After retirement, they enjoyed going South in the winter, taking their camper to Arizona, Texas, Alabama, and Florida. They became involved in Habitat for Humanity, often volunteering on builds while on these trips.
Family was very important to Vera. She loved all her children, grandchildren and extended family very much. She had special relationships with her sister Shirley, and sisters-in-law Nancy, Sandy, Renee, and Marion. She loved visiting relatives, family reunions, and family camping trips. Other family trips included winter weekly ski trips up north, several spring ski trips to Colorado, trips to various states around the country, and a spring vacation trip to Mexico.
Vera was a very friendly person. Nicknamed “Mayor Mom” by some of the family, she would frequently start up conversations with strangers she met along the way. She loved hosting an annual hayride at the farm, personally inviting anyone she encountered to come join in on the fun.
Vera loved nature, especially birds and flowers, and knew the names of most. She loved taking others for walks on the trails they had built through the woods and swamps on the farm property, sharing her knowledge of all that was found there. She loved writing and kept journals of trips and other events of her life. Always a lover of music and songs, she wrote her own words to traditional tunes which she was happy to share with others. She was active in her church, Lebanon Lutheran in Whitehall, serving on many committees and projects. One of her favorites was the quilting group. She helped start a food co-op with church and community members. A lover of music, she played in the church bell choir for a while. In the late 1960’s, she helped start an after-school tutoring program for disadvantaged children, engaging middle school students to help out. Always wanting to help others, and an advocate for women and girls, she was a Girl Scout leader for seven years and volunteered at a local women’s shelter. Vera was talented in many ways. She loved knitting, crocheting, and her many craft projects. She had her own jigsaw and cut out wood projects which she then painted. Many of these projects were shared with family and friends over the years, especially at Christmas.
Vera is survived by her daughters, Karen (Leonora Forist) Green and Barbara (Joseph) Green Ullman, her son, Steven (Elena) Green, and her “adopted” daughter, Martha Vihtelic. She is survived by grandchildren Joshua (Melissa) Green, Jade (Nate) McMackin, Jake Brooks, Bacall Brooks, and Alison Green; and great-grandchildren Dominic, Wesley, and Mekhi. Also surviving are her sister, Shirley (Tom) Horner, sisters-in-law Sandy (Jim) Knapp and Marion Graser, brothers-in-law Don (Nancy) Green and Steven (Renee) Green, and numerous nieces and nephews. Vera was predeceased by her husband, her parents, her brother Floyd, and her granddaughter, Mary Ulmer.
The family would like to thank the caregivers at home and the caring folks at Green Acres in Mt. Pleasant, helping to make her last years the best they could be. Thank you to the nurses and staff of Elara Caring for their supportive hospice services. A special thank you to Bethany for being Mom’s music person the last several months; it meant the world to her and us. We couldn’t have made this journey without all of you. It takes special people to do this kind of work and you all did it well.
Vera was a force in life and left her mark, forever changing the lives of those she loved and those she met. Alzheimer’s may have progressively ravaged her mind and body over the last decade, but in the end, she won! She is now laughing and joking, biking and sewing, gardening and singing, ringing bells, calling us home for dinner on her bugle…and best of all: dancing and kicking up her heels with our dad. We love you! You will be part of us forever.
Per Vera's wishes, cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service is being planned for next summer. Memorial contributions may be made to the White Lake Area Food Pantry, c/o Lebanon Lutheran Church, 1101 S. Mears Ave., Whitehall, MI 49461. Envelopes will be available at Clark Family Funeral Chapel.
Vera was born May 7, 1932 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the daughter of Ezra and Evelyn (Fischer) Drew. The family later moved to South Beloit, Illinois where Vera grew up and graduated from high school.
After high school, she met and fell in love with Robert Green at a dance. After a brief courtship, they were married on Feb 23, 1952 in South Beloit, Illinois. They lived first in Beloit, WI, then moved to the Detroit area where their 3 children were born. Job opportunities took them to Whitehall, Michigan, their home for nearly 20 years. Bob was self-employed, with Vera being instrumental in running the business at home while caring for the children. Always ready for an adventure, they retired, bought a farm in New Era in the late 70’s, named it Evergreen Acres and lived there nearly 40 years, moving to Mt. Pleasant in 2016.
Vera and Bob had many adventures together. They took several trips to the Caribbean and traveled to Tahiti. They were avid bikers through much of their lives, traveling thousands of miles on bicycle trips through Wisconsin and other states. The biggest trip was months long, from Washington State to Los Angeles to attend the ’84 Olympics. After retirement, they enjoyed going South in the winter, taking their camper to Arizona, Texas, Alabama, and Florida. They became involved in Habitat for Humanity, often volunteering on builds while on these trips.
Family was very important to Vera. She loved all her children, grandchildren and extended family very much. She had special relationships with her sister Shirley, and sisters-in-law Nancy, Sandy, Renee, and Marion. She loved visiting relatives, family reunions, and family camping trips. Other family trips included winter weekly ski trips up north, several spring ski trips to Colorado, trips to various states around the country, and a spring vacation trip to Mexico.
Vera was a very friendly person. Nicknamed “Mayor Mom” by some of the family, she would frequently start up conversations with strangers she met along the way. She loved hosting an annual hayride at the farm, personally inviting anyone she encountered to come join in on the fun.
Vera loved nature, especially birds and flowers, and knew the names of most. She loved taking others for walks on the trails they had built through the woods and swamps on the farm property, sharing her knowledge of all that was found there. She loved writing and kept journals of trips and other events of her life. Always a lover of music and songs, she wrote her own words to traditional tunes which she was happy to share with others. She was active in her church, Lebanon Lutheran in Whitehall, serving on many committees and projects. One of her favorites was the quilting group. She helped start a food co-op with church and community members. A lover of music, she played in the church bell choir for a while. In the late 1960’s, she helped start an after-school tutoring program for disadvantaged children, engaging middle school students to help out. Always wanting to help others, and an advocate for women and girls, she was a Girl Scout leader for seven years and volunteered at a local women’s shelter. Vera was talented in many ways. She loved knitting, crocheting, and her many craft projects. She had her own jigsaw and cut out wood projects which she then painted. Many of these projects were shared with family and friends over the years, especially at Christmas.
Vera is survived by her daughters, Karen (Leonora Forist) Green and Barbara (Joseph) Green Ullman, her son, Steven (Elena) Green, and her “adopted” daughter, Martha Vihtelic. She is survived by grandchildren Joshua (Melissa) Green, Jade (Nate) McMackin, Jake Brooks, Bacall Brooks, and Alison Green; and great-grandchildren Dominic, Wesley, and Mekhi. Also surviving are her sister, Shirley (Tom) Horner, sisters-in-law Sandy (Jim) Knapp and Marion Graser, brothers-in-law Don (Nancy) Green and Steven (Renee) Green, and numerous nieces and nephews. Vera was predeceased by her husband, her parents, her brother Floyd, and her granddaughter, Mary Ulmer.
The family would like to thank the caregivers at home and the caring folks at Green Acres in Mt. Pleasant, helping to make her last years the best they could be. Thank you to the nurses and staff of Elara Caring for their supportive hospice services. A special thank you to Bethany for being Mom’s music person the last several months; it meant the world to her and us. We couldn’t have made this journey without all of you. It takes special people to do this kind of work and you all did it well.
Vera was a force in life and left her mark, forever changing the lives of those she loved and those she met. Alzheimer’s may have progressively ravaged her mind and body over the last decade, but in the end, she won! She is now laughing and joking, biking and sewing, gardening and singing, ringing bells, calling us home for dinner on her bugle…and best of all: dancing and kicking up her heels with our dad. We love you! You will be part of us forever.