Pearl Lillian Green

Pearl Parry Green passed away on July 12, 2025, at the age of 92. Born in Kaska, Pennsylvania, she was one of the youngest of Blanche and Isaac Parry’s nine children. Her mother passed away when Pearl was only five, and her family grew further when her father remarried Anna Franco, who had five children of her own and later gave birth to two more sons with Isaac. From her early days in the coal mining town of Kaska and the often chaotic breakfast table of a family that eventually numbered eighteen, Pearl developed a spirit of strength, resilience, and fierce independence. As she liked to say in what the family lovingly called “Poor Pitiful Pearlie” stories, the bacon platter was always empty by the time it reached her—but she never let herself go hungry in life or spirit. After high school, Pearl moved south to North Carolina to live with her older sister and attend The Woman’s College (now UNC Greensboro). During her freshman year, she was set up on a blind date with a UNC Chapel Hill freshman named Julius Green. He was a true Southern gentleman and an only child from Thomasville, NC. Julius quickly fell for the intelligent, outspoken, and strikingly beautiful Yankee he’d been introduced to. They continued dating throughout college and married soon after Pearl’s graduation. The couple lived in Chapel Hill while Julius completed medical school and later settled in Raleigh with their young daughter, Jane. Having majored in business and worked as a bookkeeper to put herself through college, Pearl managed the family finances with skill and precision. She was also an accomplished athlete and an active member of both the Raleigh Racquet Club and the Sir Walter Raleigh Ski Club. Pearl had many passions: she was an avid reader and traveler, an exceptional photographer, seamstress, potter, and cook. In Raleigh, she worked on several Republican political campaigns and volunteered as a docent at the North Carolina Museum of Art. In the mid-1980s, while on a long vacation in the Cayman Islands following Julius’s major heart surgery, the couple decided to buy a rental property. That spot became the setting for many happy family vacations and cherished memories over the next 20 years. The family had also vacationed for many years at Wrightsville Beach, and when Julius retired, the couple moved there. In her later years, Pearl took up golf and loved playing with the ladies’ groups at Landfall. She was a member of Wrightsville Beach United Methodist Church, and after Julius passed in 2012, her church family became a great source of comfort and connection. Pearl is survived by her daughter, Jane Fine (Rick) of Sarasota, FL; her granddaughter Lauren Gardner (John) and great-grandchildren Flay and Pearl—her spirited namesake—of Wrightsville Beach, NC; her grandson Trent Houghton (Anna) of Nashville, TN; step-grandchildren Anna Smits (David) and children Lew, Fred, John, and Paul of Cheyenne, WY; Ali Carbone (Andrew) and children Asa and Amanita of Bradenton, FL; and Bobby Fine of Sarasota, FL. She is also survived by her two half-brothers, Jimmy Parry of Kaska, PA, and Donald Parry of Aiken, SC. Pearl's family is deeply grateful to the devoted neighbors and friends who helped her maintain her independence in her later years—something she valued above all. No arrangements for a service are planned at this time; a private family service will be held at Oleander Memorial Gardens, where Pearl’s ashes will be placed alongside Julius.

Pearl Lillian Green

November 27, 1932 - July 12, 2025