Verlyn Kent Green

V. Kent Green passed away peacefully August 3rd after a short illness. He was born September 30, 1937, in Spencer Iowa to Cleo (Christiansen) and Dent Green. He grew up on West Lake Okoboji, where his mother founded a summer fishing resort called Green Acres. He and his two brothers Dent (Denny) and Brent (Chris) helped to run the resort, including teaching fishing and water skiing. He loved telling stories about his beloved mother and his childhood on the lake, which included water skiing barefoot, piloting the ferry across the lake, and, of course, fishing. He graduated from Milford High School, second in a class of 24. He majored in business and engineering at Iowa State University. He spent two years in the Navy on a destroyer in the Pacific, visiting Japan and the Philippines. After his service, he earned his MBA at the University of Iowa. It was there that he met Joy Roustio; they were married for 61 years. 

Kent’s lifelong career and calling was investing in the stock market, and he was a portfolio manager at several companies. He first worked at the First National Bank of Chicago, then was recruited by John Hancock Life Insurance in Boston, and moved to Concord, MA where the family has resided since 1973. At one point when Kent worked for John Hancock, he had primary responsibility for the pension funds of all public school teachers in at least two southern states. He worked for Sit Investments in Minneapolis and The Boston Company. He ran his own company, Boston American Asset Management (BAAM), which consisted of two hedge funds, from 1991 to his semi-retirement in 2008. Kent took great pride in facilitating more comfortable retirement for many clients through shrewd investing, and he generously gave away stock tips. He remained unflappable during bad business as well as bad personal times. 

Another great passion of his was fishing. Having grown up on a lake, he enjoyed “reading” lakes to decipher where the fish would be, and he used those skills on fishing trips to Canada and elsewhere. He had a network of business friends with whom he fished for several decades, particularly in Canada and the Chesapeake Bay. He also fished remote fly-in lakes in Canada with his brothers, sons, and nephews. Some of his fishing stories appreciated even more than some of his favorite stocks. Kent relished travel and time with family, including cruises in Alaska, the Baltic countries, and down the Danube River, and Christmases in the Caribbean, Argentina, and Hawaii. The family inevitably would play euchre for hours (typically parents against sons). Kent was a lifelong avid reader and, though he grew up cheering for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he quickly became a devoted Boston Celtics, Red Sox, and New England Patriots fan. He brought the family to games, especially to Fenway Park (including one playoff game on the road to their 2018 World Series Championship). He was also a loyal fan and alumnus of Iowa State University and Iowa University. 

He leaves his wife Joy, two sons, Jeffrey (of Mechanicsville VA) and Jonathan (of Wakefield MA and his sailboat), one granddaughter Josie, sisters-in-law Nancy Green (Brent) and Carol Martin and brother-in-law David Roustio, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by brothers Dent and Brent.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle (MA), https://www.thescholarshipfundofcc.org/. 

Visiting hours are Friday, August 23, between 4 and 7 PM, at Concord Funeral Home (Belknap & Thoreau Streets, Concord). People can talk with Joy, Jeff, and Jonathan and reminisce about Kent’s life. 

A celebration of Kent’s life will take place at Highrock Church, 14 Mill Street, Arlington, MA 02476 Saturday, August 24 at 10 AM. 

A remote ZOOM celebration of life will take place Thursday, August 29, at 8 PM Eastern. Interested friends and family can share memories of Kent with the people he loved. Please use the following ZOOM link.  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87822039518