Obituary of Joanna Greene

Joanna Uris Greene

February 26, 1937 - February 21, 2020 

 

Joanna died of lung failure after a 5 year decline due to dementia. Jo grew up in New York City. She spent her summers at camps such as Camp Taconic among others in upstate NY. There she made one of her lifelong friends, Maggie Oldershaw when they were 5 years old.  She started high school at Midwood High School then transferred to the High School of Performing Arts to study dance. As a teenager she loved to hang out in Greenwich Village, soaking up the folk culture with the likes of Paul Simon and The Kingston Trio. There she sang songs protesting social injustice.  Joanna was a working woman. Her first job was designing folding boxes.  After she married Sidney Greene in 1956, she ran his business, Astramatics Inc, in Brooklyn, NY. She did everything there: office management, payroll, shipping, receiving, accounts payable, receptionist, IT... everything. The company’s employees called her Chief. She was the one who ran the joint.   As a working mother, she and her husband raised their children, Leo, Paul, and Diana in Rockaway Beach, NY. Her children benefited from an unconditional love that supported them and will continue to support them throughout their lifetimes.   Her acceptance extended to many young people. Jo made her Rockaway home a sanctuary for all the neighborhood teens and many felt at home there. In retirement, Joanna and Sidney moved to Hallwood, VA, where they ran a ranch with horses, goats, and rescued Wolfhounds and Great Danes. She bonded with many whom she met through the equestrian community, the local Masonic lodge, Wolfhound and Great Dane rescue communities, and more. After Sidney died in 2006, Jo downsized to Kintnersville, PA, to be near her sister Sheila Uris Stern and her son Paul Greene.  With a smaller home Joanna’s animal loving heart transferred from rescuing the biggest of dogs to the loudest of cats, Siamese cats in particular. Joanna was a superhero whose unique super power was making the people she cared about feel valued, safe, accepted and capable.

She is survived by her three children, Leo Greene, Paul Greene, and  Diana Garrett, grandchildren, Mitchell Greene, Tyler Greene, Weston Greene, Samantha Colbeth, Josh Greene, Eric Greene, Alexander Garrett, and Darwin Garrett. She is also survived by a great grandchild, Everett, a fostered cutie boy by Weston and wife Brittany and her sister Sheila Uris Stern.

Please post memories, anecdotes, good wishes and love to the family through Preston Funeral Home at  https://jacobhollefuneralhome.com/tribute/details/9861/Joanna-Greene/obituary.html#tribute-start obituary tab.  A celebration of her life will be scheduled for Sunday, June 21, 2020 in South Orange, NJ.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to Serenity Hospice Care in memory of Joanna Greene.

Serenity Hospice Care, 56 Georgetown Rd, Bordentown, NJ 08505