Queen City Valentines: Meet Two City of Charlotte Couples

Published on February 14, 2026

Left: Richard & Lillian Greene on their wedding day. Right: Robert & Monica Mahoney posing for a photo.

We love a lot of things about Charlotte, but we love its people most of all. It’s people who keep the City of Charlotte running, from individuals to teams to couples. Yes, couples!

This Valentine’s Day, we are spotlighting two couples who wanted to share their love—for each other and for the city they call home.

Richard & Lillian Greene

Job Titles

Richard Greene: Field Operations Supervisor, Solid Waste Services 

Lillian Greene: Rail Controller, Charlotte Area Transit System 

Marriage Date

April 22, 2023

How did you two meet? 

Lillian: At work (laughs).

Richard: It was during COVID. She had on her mask. I didn’t even know what her face looked like. All I’d seen was her eyes. I got introduced to her, and then finally she took her mask off, like maybe six months later, and then bam. 

Lillian: Yeah, I came to work at Solid Waste. I used to keep my face covered up, hair tied up. He never knew what I looked like. He would just see my eyes.  

What was it like getting to know each other? 

Lillian: I used to dodge him because he wasn’t my type. 

Richard: She thought I was a cornball. 

Lillian: I did. I thought he was a nerd (laughs). 

Richard: I thought she was beautiful. I was like, "Wow." I was taken by her beauty, and then slowly I got to know her over time, and I was like, "Wow, she’s really amazing."

Lillian, you chose to leave Solid Waste Services when you started a relationship. How was that for you? 

Lillian: It wasn’t big for me. It was worth it for me, because [I met someone] who actually treated me right. I’ve been through people who weren’t worth it, and he was worth it. So I was like, I will go somewhere else. He had been there longer than me. He wanted to move up. He wanted to move up, they wanted to move him up, so I was like, "Okay, I’ll find another job," and I did. 

Richard, when did you know Lillian was supposed to be your wife?  

Richard: No matter what, she was there. A lot of stuff happened in my life, and she was just right there. She wasn’t going nowhere, and she really showed me that she was about me. 

Lillian, when did you know Richard was supposed to be your husband? 

Lillian: When we were going through the tough patches, and when he wanted to push me away and God was just like, "Don’t let him go." I always used to tell people I would never get married… It was just something, and he was so different. 

You have been married for almost three years now. What is your favorite thing about each other? 

Lillian: It’s his smile. You can just look at him from a mile away, and I just love his smile. He’s always smiling. It’s just the biggest smile. It’s [also] how he talks to me. He don’t ever yell at me. Even when he’s mad at me, he don’t treat me no different. He might be mad, and he’ll go to bed, but he always tells me he loves me no matter what, and I love him. 

Richard: I just love the way she loves me. I ain’t never been loved like this. It’s stuff you read in the books about. It’s the stuff you read in the books and you watch the movies, and I got that. So, it’s just amazing to me. Every day I look at her while she’s asleep, and I’m like, "That’s mine right there," and I just love her so much.  

Can you believe you met at work? 

Richard: Man, I thank God. I thank God for that. If I had stayed on night shift or something, things would have been different and we wouldn’t have even crossed paths. 

Lillian: I can’t believe it. I’ve worked plenty of jobs and didn’t pay anybody any attention. 

Richard: The City of Charlotte has been great to me. It’s been great to me and my children, but you’re the greatest. You’re the greatest thing the city gave me. 

What do you both love about working for the City of Charlotte?  

Richard: The flexibility is great, and definitely the growth. 

Lillian: The growth. If you just go on the website, you can just start looking for what’s going to be suitable for you and your family, what can fit the needs of you guys. You can go to school. They can help you go back to school to get a degree to be able to grow, and it’s just always been there. 

What’s your favorite thing to do together in Charlotte? 

Lillian: It used to be eating, but we had to calm that one down (laughs). 

Richard: Carowinds. 

Lillian: He loves Carowinds. 

What does the future hold for you two? 

Lillian: At our five-year, I’m already planning it, I want to have a big old five-year wedding vow renewal. I really do. I really want to have it. I’m ready for grandkids. I want to be the grandma. I want the kids to come over on the weekends. I just want a long life. I never thought I’d be married and have all of that, and I’m ready for it. 

Richard: I’m definitely going to retire from the city. I’m going to talk to the garbage men that ride by and tell them I used to be a supervisor and how I appreciate their service.

Robert & Monica Mahoney

Job Titles

Robert Mahoney: Small Business Administrator, Solid Waste Services 

Monica Mahoney: Investigative Tech, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department 

Marriage Date

July 16, 1991

How did you two meet? 

Robert: I met my beautiful wife when I was stationed at Fort Bragg. 

Monica: We were introduced. 

Robert: Yeah, we had a friend introduce us. 

Monica: It was a mutual friend that knew both of us. Robert asked her if she had any friends that she could introduce him to, but she was unsure because of the way that Robert is. He’s a jokester. 

Robert: My wife would not allow me to have her phone number. She would only allow me to give my phone number to a mutual friend. This was the 80s, so it wasn’t as if there was texting or email. So, she took my phone number. But because I was on rapid deployment at Fort Bragg, she would call and leave a voice message, but I have no number to call back when I’m available. So, I always had to wait for her to reach out to me. 

How did you both get to Charlotte? 

Monica: He got out of the military. He was working as a defense contractor. We were out in Oklahoma. He wanted to stay in Oklahoma, but I was like, "I’m not staying here. I don’t have any family here. All my family’s in North Carolina." So, we had a friend that was here in Charlotte, two friends that were both military and my sister was here. Robert’s sister wanted him to come back to Maryland to live, and Robert said, "Well since we have friends in Charlotte and it’s halfway, we should go to Charlotte." So that’s how we ended up in Charlotte. 

When did you start working for the City of Charlotte? 

Robert: I was working in a group home, [which] led to being a juvenile court counselor. So, working as a juvenile court counselor allowed me to start with the city in 2000. I was able to transition from a juvenile court counselor to a community improvement inspector with Solid Waste Services in November of 2000. 

Monica: 2003. 

Monica, what made you interested in becoming an investigative tech with CMPD? 

Monica: I wanted to help serve and help people. I enjoy helping [with] community stuff. Even though I’m a shy person, it’s totally different. 

Robert: Initially, it was one of those positions where my wife was kind of reluctant to really step out there. I was like, "Hey, this is a position I think you might like," and she was like, "No." 

Monica: Yeah, at first I said no, but then I changed my mind. 

Robert: You’re inquisitive, aka nosy (laughs). You like gathering information. She’s a very, very, very, very honest person. So, knowing that’s who she was, when the position came open, I was like, "You need to apply for this." It’s kind of been a great situation. By faith, it was a position that was designed for her. 

What do you love about your jobs? 

Monica: Each call is different. They’re not always the same. Working with my coworkers, working as a team with all the different calls we get, we run the calls by each other sometimes. [I enjoy] helping out the citizens over the phone. 

Robert: I’m a people person. When I came here and got involved as an inspector, it was being in contact with people, helping people. Being there for a while, I think [it’s about] the people that I touch base with as a small business administrator. Some people call me once every six months or once a year, and they’re like, "I remember talking to you before, and you were open and warm on the phone." I just like people. I enjoy being involved with people, helping out as best I can. So, if I can do something to help someone, I’ll try to do it. So that’s been probably the most rewarding thing for me.

You have been married for nearly 35 years. Robert, what is your favorite thing about Monica?  

Robert: I don’t have a favorite thing about her. I have a lot of things I love about her. When I first met her, I found her compassion, her ability to go above and beyond, a lot of the things that I kind of think I was lacking in life. She was there to make those things better. 

Monica, what’s your favorite thing about Robert?  

Monica: He’s my best friend. You’re going to make me cry. I just love him. He’s very supportive. I just love him. He’s a good guy. I got a good one. As my aunt always says, she says, "You got a good one, make sure you keep him."

Monica, you're crying. Why does talking about your love for Robert make you so emotional?  

Monica: I love him. He’s really special to me, and he’s always been there for me. 

What does the future hold for you two? 

Robert: I’m really close to 65, and that’s kind of a magic number. Being with the city for over 20 years and 65 kind of resonates with me. We have a grandson who is a sophomore in high school, but he recently relocated to Texas. We don’t get to see him as much as we did in his elementary years. So, if [I am] able to retire, I’d like to be in a position to be able to see him as he matures and grows, and it’s kind of hard to do on a schedule. 

Monica: I used to say I’ll work until I can’t work no more. I used to say that, but I don’t know. Maybe five years, I don’t know. Maybe. We have to see. 

Robert: We’ll be faithful and lean on the Lord to guide us and utilize what is in place and what he’s given us to make our decision. 

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Fall in love with public service. Apply for a job with the City of Charlotte on the City Jobs web page.