Reuben B. Greene

Reuben Benjamin Greene was born on May 28, 1929, in Powhatan, Virginia, the youngest of five children from the union of the late Voll Paul Greene, Sr. and Alice Virginia Dabney. Voll died of illness shortly before Reuben was born and Alice thereafter moved her young family to Richmond when Reuben was a young boy. Reuben, or “Biggie” (short for “Big Boy”), as he was affectionately known by family and friends, was a product of Richmond Public Schools, and a proud graduate of Maggie Walker High School, with the class of 1946. Upon graduation, Reuben joined the United States Navy, serving aboard the navy escort aircraft carrier Mindoro (CVE-120) as a U. S. Navy signalman, at a time when few blacks were qualified in specialized or technical naval positions. In this specialized communications role, he was responsible for line-of-sight visual communications, allowing ships to communicate silently to avoid detection, when the vast majority of black sailors remained restricted to the messman or steward departments.

After being honorably discharged from naval service in 1949, Reuben matriculated to Virginia Union University, where he studied for two years. It was also in 1949 that Reuben welcomed his first child, Gayle. Reuben was a talented artist and his skills led him to a professional opportunity with the federal government civilian service in the graphics department of the Training Support Center (TASC) at Fort Lee, Virginia. He thus withdrew from Virginia Union and began a successful career with the federal government which spanned more than 35 years. Reuben married his beloved wife, Lillian Edwards Greene on her birth date, November 21, 1959 and their union was blessed with two sons, Reuben Sr. and Kevin.

Reuben’s professional and managerial skill resulted in his rising to become the head of the TASC, a role in which he served for many years prior to his retirement. A hallmark of Reuben’s long government service was his dedication to championing equal employment rights of government workers, particularly minorities. Reuben became a specialist in federal equal employment regulations and procedures and used this knowledge and expertise in representing hundreds of federal employees as an advocate in employee grievance matters in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These included matters where employees brought actions against the government for unfair employment treatment and cases where the government sought to discipline or sanction a federal employee for an alleged employment or performance violation. Reuben was also active in, and a life member of, Blacks in Government, regularly participating in programs and conferences to further the organization’s aims of promoting professionalism, advocating for equal opportunity for black government employees, and the elimination of racially discriminatory practices against black government employees.

Reuben was further devoted to his church and community and served each with this time as well as in formal roles. He was a loyal member of the Second Baptist Church (West End) and a long-standing member of the William Loving Usher Board, including having served as its President. Reuben also served as President of the Marshall-Walker High School P.T.A. where he advocated for greater parental involvement in student education.

Reuben retired from federal government civilian service in 1996 after a long and fruitful career, allowing him to devote well-earned time to working on his classic cars, doting on his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and spending time with family.

Reuben Benjamin Greene departed this life on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Reuben was preceded to eternal rest by his loving wife, Lillian Dolores Edwards Greene; two brothers, Holman Greene, and Voll Paul Greene, Jr., “Mutt”; and two sisters, Avis Holmes and Patty Brown.

Reuben leaves behind to cherish and celebrate his memory his loving daughter, Gayle Vandervall Murphy (Melvin); two devoted sons, Reuben V. Greene, Sr. and Kevin E. Greene; seven cherished grandchildren, Christopher M. Webber (Michelle), Maiyhsa M. Fullen (Angelo), Reuben V. Greene, Jr. (Shae), Sawn Kier Greene, Sharis Kien Greene, Sawyer Vega Greene, and Malone Thomas; six wonderful great-grandchildren; one loved sister-in-law, Lillie S. Edwards; two loyal nieces, Rhonda Edwards and Nicole D. Brown; two caring nephews, Frank R. Edwards, III and Emil Scott Brown; and a host of other dear relatives and friends.

Professional services entrusted to Walter J. Manning Funeral Home, 700 N. 25th St., where the family will receive friends Thursday, July 16, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Second Baptist Church West End, 1400 Idlewood Ave., on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 1 p.m. Interment Forest Lawn Cemetery.