Tiras Rainey Green

“Hear, for I will speak noble things as entrusted me.” — Chancellor Johnathan Bennett At the age of 46, Tiras Rainey Green found rest and eternal peace on the 7th of August in the year of 2021. Born to Joseph “Poppy” Rainey Green and Julia Mae (Thomas) Green on the 11th of February in the year of 1975, Tiras Green grew up in Edgewood, Maryland. Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, he lived his life through the will of Father God. Self-employed, Tiras labored to build his brand, Denzelin 101, in Edgewood, Maryland. Through the art of barbering this entrepreneur, instilled confidence into each of his clients; sparking friendships that lasted lifetimes. Tiras made leaps and bounds in his career, his strides endless as he loved to provide for his family. His job was never something he dreaded doing; it was never just a stepping stone for him to make money. Work was just another place he called home, filled with people he called his family. A forge forever bonded. Tiras was not only a son, but a brother, father, and husband. His heart could barely be contained in his chest, bursting with warm light that surrounded everyone he came in contact with. He was a grizzly teddy bear with his scruffy beard and tattoos, but full of kisses and hugs for everyone he loved. There was not a single day he did not go without reminding his kids that he loved them so very much. This was an unconditional, unselfish love, pure at the core and overflowing. No father loved his children more. From his classic khaki cargo shorts, to his beat-up brown flip flops, this man fit the dad role to a tee, never lacking in an armada of dad jokes; prepped and ready to fire, he aimed for the bellies of his children, pushing up bubbling laughs where all they could do was throw their heads back. In the wise words of writer, activist, and fellow Black father, Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Anyone can make a baby, but it takes a man to be a father.” As the valedictorian of Harford Technical High School’s class of 1993, Tiras was far from a one-dimensional man. On Sundays when the family would gather at his parent’s home, he would either be found on the couch, leaning back with his father as speakers that nearly reached the ceiling blasted the smooth and velvety tones of jazz trumpets and saxophones— or in the backyard watching his kids, nieces, and nephews run around with their laughs trailing behind them as he held it down at the grill, his mighty weapon a spatula. When his children gathered at his house on weekends, he would craft up fun activities like roasting s’mores on the back deck, tinkering away at a bike so they could all go bike down to a nearby stream, or buying heapfuls of steamed crabs smothered in Old Bay to feast upon. You knew you were in for a great time when he pulled up in his flashy car, a part of his own trivia game, eager to tell you all of the fun facts and features. Tiras will continue to live on through: his father, Joseph R. Green; his sisters, Tamara Green, Tiffinee Green, Tanya Alvelo, and Terri Green; his twin brother, Torbin Green; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. His legacy continues through: his sons, Rondez T. Green and Giovanni Negron, and his daughters A’maya T. Green, Ciara M. Green, Iana L. Green, and Ariella A. Green. His heart forever belongs to his beautiful wife, Ileana (Cartagena) Green. He is predeceased by his mother, Julia Mae (Thomas) Green. “You must wake up every morning knowing that no promise is unbreakable, least of all the promise of waking up at all. This is not despair. These are the preferences of the universe itself: verbs over nouns, actions over states, struggle over hope.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates