Robert Michael Green

Dr. Robert Green, who practiced medicine in Pittsburgh for more than three decades, died peacefully on October 7, surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren, and friends. He was 71.

Dr. Green was born in Buffalo, New York in 1949. He remained close with his childhood friends from School 22 and Bennett High School throughout his life. They knew him as Sunny. "Everybody doesn't like something," they would say, "but nobody doesn't like Sunny Green."

He graduated from the University of Rochester and the State University of New York at Syracuse. After completing his residency at Saint Margaret Memorial Hospital, Dr. Green began his practice at Saint Clair Hospital, where he eventually served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice and as Chairman of the Quality Improvement Team. Dr. Green also spent many years in private practice. He co-founded Preferred Primary Care Physicians in 1995. Throughout his tenure, Dr. Green practiced at the highest standards of service, earning the appreciation and affection of his colleagues and, especially, his patients.

Dr. Green loved baseball. In addition to being a decades-long Pirates season ticket holder and regular presence at Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park, Dr. Green served for several years as a team doctor for the Pirates. He was also an enthusiastic collector of baseball memorabilia. Unlike other private collectors, Dr. Green insisted that guests try on antique jerseys and play catch with the gloves of baseball legends when they visited. A natural storyteller, he shared his love of the game not only with his friends and family but also with students of his adult education baseball history class.

He was also a great lover of music. What began as deep appreciation for the music of the Beatles and other rock music of his youth, transformed later in life into a new identity as a rock musician. Dr. Green learned to drum and played in several local rock bands, including The Basements. He also dazzled guests at his children's weddings by taking off his jacket to sit in with the band.

Dr. Green was loved deeply by his family. He and his wife Joan, with whom he was set up on a blind date, shared 43 memorable years of marriage together. They enjoyed attending Pirates and Pitt basketball games, traveling to New Zealand, Russia, and the American Southwest, and participating in the life of their synagogue, Beth El Congregation. He was a loving father to his children, Rachel and Daniel, and their spouses, David and Carolyn. He was a source of deep humor and adoration to his grandsons, Nathaniel, Oscar, Asher, and Ari.

He was a little man with a big and generous heart.

A funeral service will be held outdoors on Sunday October 10 at 10am at Mount Lebanon Cemetery, 509 Washington Road.

The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy consider making a donation online to the Dr. Robert Green Fund at St. Jude's Children's Hospital or to the ALS Association Western Pennsylvania Chapter, 416 Lincoln Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15209.

Service will also be available on Zoom - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81569156861?pwd=ZVZtSnpQMnMyeDNVb2NmVWx1Unp6QT09

Arrangements entrusted to WILLIAM SLATER II FUNERAL SERVICE (412-563-2800), 1650 Greentree Rd., Scott Twp. 15220. www.slaterfuneral.com