Time to read
2 minutes
Read so far

MARIANA GREEN

0 comments
Albany News

Mariana Green was born Nov. 16, 1959 and grew up on the Green Ranch, just east of Albany, Texas; she was the youngest of the three children of Bob and Nancy Green. Mariana died on March 26, 2019, after a short but vicious fight with cancer.

A memorial service was held at The Old Jail Art Center at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2019.

Mariana graduated from The Hockaday School and then attended Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. After returning to Albany from Shreveport, she worked for and became indispensable to her beloved Reilly Nail at the Old Jail Art Center, when the Old Jail was just getting started. But soon, in the early 1980s, she was accepted into the Leiths School of Food and Wine, in London, where she found one of her callings – cooking, serious cooking.

When Mariana returned from London, she married John Lane of Houston, with whom she had her two beautiful children, Katherine and Bennett. During this time, seamlessly balancing it all, she self-started a catering business out of her home kitchen that quickly became one of Houston’s best. Never one to turn down someone looking for a good meal, during the 1992 Presidential election Mariana catered food for both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She was also known to send lavish care packages to the other children in her orbit, of whom there were, and are, many.

In 2007, Mariana married Dan Searight at the Lake House out on the Green Ranch. It was a family wedding, but she planned it to the smallest detail, and it was perfect, down to her beloved father, Bob Green, playing some of her favorite songs on the accordion.

While in Houston, Mariana began a second career as a petroleum landman for Riverbend Land. Her remarkable affinity for people, particularly those who can be overlooked or hard to find, made her a natural in the land business.

In 2015, Mariana and Dan moved back to Albany, so she could be closer to her aging mother. Recently, they had moved to the Dallas area to be near her grandchildren.

Mariana loved and studied music, food, and the history of the Albany area. She was wickedly funny, and unfailingly irreverent. At a party in Albany, one always wanted to find Mariana and Reilly Nail, who would typically be found laughing together at something others might not understand or certainly not get away with saying.

Mariana’s generosity was legend. Coupled with her willingness to hurl herself at projects, it fueled her success as a caterer and landman, but more importantly, her role as nurturer for so many. If we are graded on kindness to children and stray dogs, she graduated at the top of the class.

Mariana is survived by her husband, Dan Searight; her children, Katherine Lane Allen (and husband Ryan), and Bennett Lane; her grand-daughters, Ebby and Edie Allen; and her step-children, Will, Caroline and Meredith Searight. She is also survived by her mother, Nancy Green; her brother, Rob Green (and wife Susie); and myriad nieces, nephews, cousins, god-children, and others she took care of over the years. Mariana was preceded in death by her father, Bob Green; her sister, Nancy Kate Hargrove; and her nephew, James Green.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that donations be made in Mariana’s name to the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas. PD