Jack Greenberg
Obituaries
Steamboat Pilot and Today - December 6, 2019
Survived by wife Rita, sister Helen, son Mark (Deb), daughters Annlee Landman and Hallie Braje (David), grandchildren Andrew (Melanie), Jeffrey (Sara), Tyler, Isa, Jenna, Dayan (Farhana), great grandchild Lana Reef, and numerous nephews and nieces. Jack spent his early years in Miami Beach. After graduating from Miami Beach High, he attended Harvard graduating magna cum laude in 1952. He graduated Harvard Medical School cum laude in 1956. Residencies and fellowships followed at Massachusetts General Hospital along with service in the U.S. Navy as head of the Experimental Surgery Unit. Jack attained the rank of Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve and served as Fleet Surgeon on many occasions. Jack became Chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and later, Director of Surgical Services at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. For the duration of his four decades as a surgeon, he served as Professor of Surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Jack was never all about work. In Miami he was an avid sailor racing his sloop Jacknife to many trophies in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference. He and Rita traveled extensively including a memorable trip hiking to Mt. Everest base camp. On retirement, they moved to Steamboat Springs, CO where they embraced the horse and ranch culture of the West and for 15 years made great friends and hosted many guests on their vacations. The next outpost on their journey was Ruidoso, NM where Rita and Jack lived on a magnificent golf course property. Fortunately for the game of golf, Jack only used the course to walk his beloved dogs. On the final leg of his journey, Jack and Rita relocated to St. Augustine-Westminster where they continued their pattern of community participation and making friends. Jack played second fiddle to Rita’s quilting, made intricate model ships and served on the landscape and scholarship committees. And for someone who couldn’t hear worth a damn, he told a good story. Jack was respected by his colleagues and loved by the many patients whose lives he saved with his skills and medical knowledge. He was adored by his family, friends and yes, his beloved dogs. Despite the roller coaster of ups and downs in his last months, Jack was comforted by the knowledge that he had the unconditional support of his family and the many friends he and Rita made wherever they lived. Jack will be remembered not only for his surgical skills but for his intelligence, his humor and his unwavering commitment to friends, family and his beloved wife. A celebration of Jack’s life will be scheduled at a later date.
