Greene is Davy Days parade marshal
By Cara Zarecor
It is hard to catch up with Lynn Greene, owner of Greene Things Floral & Gifts in Rutherford, because she is one busy lady!
The day I spoke to her she was loading up orders and about to hit the road to make deliveries from Newbern all the way to Obion. She was out of breath but delighted to multi-task long enough to share a bit of her story and how she came to be this year’s grand marshal of the Davy Crockett Days Parade.
Lynn Puckett Greene, born in Greenfield, is the eldest daughter of the late William and Gail Puckett. Kim Puckett Bohannan and Lisa Puckett Nickelson are her two younger sisters.
After she graduated Greenfield High School in 1974, she married and had three daughters of her own: Stormi Victory of Union City, Brianne North of Kenton, and Blair Bradberry of Dover.
Greene then bought Greenfield City Florist and ran the business for three years before selling it and going to work for Nanney’s Florist in McKenzie. When she remarried, she acquired her two step-children, Chad Greene and Wendy Greene. Later she gave birth to her youngest child and only biological son, Tyson Greene of Rutherford.
“So really I have six children and I love them and my sons- and daughters-in-law so much. They’re wonderful,” Greene explained. “Would you believe I now have 13 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and one on the way?”
Many may not know that Greene Things Floral and Gifts actually started in a farm shop at Greene’s home in 1994. She then began to sell her wares at flea markets and craft shows. Her business grew so much that she opened a full-line florist in the Old Tilghman School House in Rutherford and was there for six years before finally moving to her Main Street location, where she has been for the past 20 years.
“God put me here,” Greene said, when I asked her about making her life in Rutherford. “A few times God has told me ‘no,’ but here I am. I just try my best to be as honest and as community minded as I can be. I want to help people, whether it’s by sending a bouquet of flowers when they get married or when they pass away. I am humble. I want to do whatever I can to help people.”
Greene said that her faith in God is what leads her in her life. She attends Bethpage Baptist Church in the Mason Hall/Kenton area.
When asked about how she feels about having been chosen as this year’s grand marshal, Greene’s heartfelt reply was, “I don’t know, but I feel so loved by the people in Rutherford. They are my people; they are my people. I’m so appreciative that they’ve accepted me with open arms.”
The 53rd Davy Crockett Days Festival kicks off Sunday. You can see Greene and others in the Davy Crockett Days Parade, which is currently scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. Give this sweet, hard-working lady a big wave!
