Arnold Harrison Green
1940 ~ 2019
On Wednesday, July 24, 2019, Arnold Harrison Green, passed away at the age of 79, due to complications from a stroke.
Arnie was born July 2, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, and he served an LDS mission in France. He earned an MA in history from BYU, and an MA and PhD in Middle Eastern History from UCLA. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Tunisia, France, and Yemen. He taught at the University of Miami, was the director for Arabic Studies at the American University in Cairo-where he taught for over 10 years, a teacher and director at the BYU Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem, and the Chair of the BYU history department in Provo, Utah-where he taught for 24 years. He earned teaching awards at both AUC and BYU, a reflection of his great love of teaching the youth, both at the university and in many church callings.
Arnie met his future wife, Lanigene Handy, at a church-sponsored activity, and they were married on June 19, 1965 in the Los Angeles LDS Temple. Together they raised four children as they moved between Provo, Los Angeles, France, Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, and Jerusalem. He loved playing games with his family and sports with his friends. His family was his life and Lani was the love of his life; together they were an unforgettable team. For many years, he and colleagues from BYU competed in the basketball division of the Senior Games in St. George, Utah. After retiring as a professor, Arnie and Lani moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they directed the King Faisal Foundation's efforts to collect and digitize the royal family's historical documents. Throughout his life, Arnie served in many callings in the LDS church, including as a branch president in Egypt and as a district president in Israel. At the time of his passing, Arnie and Lani were serving an LDS mission focused on compiling a record of the LDS church's history in the Middle East.
Arnie also spent much of his free time working on family history, and in death he will be welcomed by a multitude of loved ones that he served. He is preceded in death by his father, William; mother, Letha; sister, Wendy; and brother, David. He is survived by his wife, Lanigene; sister, Laurel (Dennis); four children, Sarah (Nate), Katrina (Steve), Joseph (Brenda), Genevieve (Julian); and thirteen grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 3, 2019 at the Orem 6th Ward Chapel, 365 South 900 East, Orem, Utah. Friends may visit with the family Friday, August 2 from 6-8:00 p.m. at the Berg Mortuary of Orem, 500 North State Street, and at the church Saturday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Timpanogos Memorial Gardens. Condolences may be expressed at www.bergmortuary.com.