Published on April 15, 2025 4:25 pm
Last Updated on April 15, 2025 4:26 pm
John Nils Green, age 64, a much-loved brother, son, uncle and cousin, often called “Johnny,” took his last breath at St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia at 4:11 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2025, after a battle with recurring respiratory disease.
He was known for his good will, quirky sense of humor, love and concern for others and his occasional flashes of temper and hard-headedness.
John was born June 26, 1960, at Charleston (IL) Memorial Hospital, the second son of Carl K. Green Sr. and Marie Hokanson Green. His father was a professor of educational psychology at Eastern Illinois University, teaching school guidance counselors and administrators. John was discovered to be developmentally disabled at an early age, and he grew up attending special education classes in Charleston, Mattoon and then Salem schools after the family moved in 1977 to the historic Green Family Farm outside of Kinmundy in Marion County. After attending Salem High School, he was accepted by the Kaskaskia Workshop in Centralia, where he helped with assembly jobs but eventually chose the title of “Watcher” as one who would sit and watch the proceedings. He would ride a bus there, but on days when he could not catch the bus, his father would drive him to the workshop. On days off he would enjoy the farm’s animals and wildlife and exploring the old barns – or watching television. In his farm years, John enjoyed visitors and family gatherings and reunions with his siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles from around the nation. After his father’s death in 2004, John lived at the farm with his mother until she arranged for him to move to the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, where he found a good home with many friends and opportunities. He especially enjoyed interacting with the staff there and was known for his sense of humor.
John had frequent medical issues, so he became well-known to the nurses and doctors at St. Mary’s Hospital, where he would enjoy the attention he received during their efforts to diagnose and treat him. He made frequent visits to the Green Farm to see his family and his mother, who died in 2010.
John’s greatest accomplishment was to win the love of so many friends, relatives and family members, and to return it in his own way, wherever he went.
Survivors include his brother, Carl K. Green Jr. and his wife Lois, of Edwardsville, IL; sister Nancy M. Brophy and her husband Tim, of Bartlett, TN; sister Carolyn K. Green and her husband, Arthur Floyd of St. Louis, MO; and numerous nieces and nephews and cousins.
Funeral services to celebrate John’s life will be held at 3:00 pm, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at the McGriff Funeral Home in Kinmundy with Carl Green and Pastor Carol Rudzinski officiating. Burial will follow the services at the Sandy Branch Cemetery, rural Kinmundy. Visitation will be held on Tuesday at the funeral home from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in John’s honor to Sandy Branch Cemetery, Kinmundy, IL or to Murray Center Parents Association, Centralia, IL.
The McGriff Funeral Home in Kinmundy is honored to be entrusted with the family’s care and arrangements. To sign the guestbook online or share a memory or story of John, please visit www.mcgriffandtriplettfh.com.