Prominent local businessman and community leader G.B. Greene died Sunday at his home. He was 80.

Known for a lifetime of work at Womack Printing Company, Mr. Greene was instrumental in opening Boyd Christian School in 1979, was a veteran of the U.S. Army, and was especially concerned with making sure underprivileged children had gifts at Christmas as a member of the Jaycees.

He was Warren County’s Young Man of the Year in 1975 and he received the Exchange Club’s Book of Golden Deeds in 2016 for his life-long work.

“G.B. did so many things for so many people, but he was a behind-the-scenes man,” said Jack Puckett, who has known Mr. Greene since the 1950s. “He didn’t want any recognition for the things he was doing. He was an all-around nice person.”

Born George Boles Greene in 1939, he started his working career as a boy. At the age of 9, he began assembling bicycles for the local Western Auto store and also worked at McMinnville Clothing Store.

When he was 14, Mr. Greene made the decision to stop playing football so he could work after school with Walter Womack at Womack Printing. From that entry-level job, Mr. Greene would ascend to become a full partner of the business in 1966 and then took over as full owner in 1974 upon Mr. Womack’s retirement.

Mr. Greene was honored by Boyd Christian School in 2013 as the recipient of its Rally Around the Poll Award. He was a charter member of Boyd’s board of directors and would serve on that board for more than two decades.

“It gives all the kids of Warren County the opportunity to go to a Christian school, which is something I think is important,” said Mr. Greene upon receiving the award from the school.

Along with being a printer, Mr. Greene promoted the history of Warren County. He published numerous books of local importance such as “McMinnville at a Milestone” and “Sedberry Hotel Recipes,” to name two.

Mr. Greene was elected to the board of First National Bank of Middle Tennessee in 1983 and was also a member of the Rotary Club of McMinnville. In 2016, Womack Printing received the Lifetime Membership Award from the Chamber of Commerce as a charter member of the Chamber when it was formed in 1950.

Funeral service for Mr. Greene is Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Central Church of Christ. Obituary information is on 2A.