Jerrold A Green

Jerrold A. Green Obituary
January 23, 1933 – November 4, 2025
At age 11, Jerry Green and his friend pedaled off on a bicycle trip down the eastern coast of New Jersey.  His parents sent him off with a rucksack of sandwiches, a bedroll, and change to call home should anything come up. As an adult, his sense of adventure and fortitude only grew: As a hurricane approached during a family camping trip on Lake George, he and his friends secured the boats, battened down the hatches, and settled in for a rum and tonic. Jerrold A. Green died peacefully at home on November 4, 2025.

Jerry was born to Flossie (Florence Miron) and Max Green in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There, he collected tin for the war effort, played stickball and baseball, and listened in on his parents’ Friday Night Club leftist political discussions and play readings with friends and family.

He graduated from the business school at Cornell University in 1954. He served as circulation manager for the Cornell Daily Sun, participated in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, and led an active social life. (He would later beam with pride that he had been classmates with his hero, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.) It was on an outing to nearby Syracuse University that he met the beautiful, smart, and fun-loving Helaine Brand. Afterward, Jerry won a coin toss with his buddies to see who would get to ask Helaine on a date. The rest was history. Helaine and Jerry married in May 1955, and moved to Richmond, Virginia, where Jerry was stationed. In the Army, he managed logistics, moving troops and equipment across the U.S. south, and sent his poker winnings home to his new bride.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Jerry entered the world of sales, and eventually, a lifelong career withMadison Business Forms, where he managed the Manhattan office. Helaine became a social worker and, after stops in Norwood, Mass. and Plainfield, NJ, they settled in Berkeley Heights, where he lived until his passing. They raised three girls, Laurie, Andrea and Claudia.

Having kids did not stop the adventures. He and Helaine took the kids skiing and organized famous Mother’s Day canoe trips down the Delaware with neighbors. They learned to sail and took the boat on camping trips to Lake George with other families. He organized a tennis group that endured for decades, sailing excursions, and mountain hikes with friends. When his children begged to join the annual (previously all men’s) climb up Mount Washington, Jerry booked extra beds at the Lake of the Clouds hut and led the way. Later, grandkids also made that trek at his side.

Jerry did not give advice; he led by example. Children and grandchildren learned to make drop biscuits and gravlax; walk fast and make their beds with hospital corners; read maps and history; and to hike, ski, paddle a canoe, and enjoy a concert under the stars at Tanglewood. (They did not become tennis players, to his dismay.)  What Jerry will be most-remembered for, however, is that he welcomed people and was truly interested in them. A family member shared, “He always made you feel that you were the one in the room he couldn’t wait to talk to.” Annual Thanksgiving celebrations—a 100+ year tradition in his family—were a highlight and Jerry carried on Flossie’s tradition of preparing the sweet and sour tongue. (You had to have a taste for it…)

Jerry and Helaine were active in social justice causes and local politics. With their toddler in tow, they joined the Fair Housing Movement, helping to end the exclusion of Black families. In addition to civil rights, they joined the fights for farmworker rights, women’s rights, and left-leaning candidates. They took the family to antiwar demonstrations--a tradition the kids would carry on, later taking Jerry with them.

When he retired, Jerry quickly found his calling. He signed up at the ACLU, and answered calls and stacks of letters from people who felt their constitutional rights had been violated. He also became an ESOL tutor with immigrants. It was his greatest joy to see one of his students pass their citizenship test or be admitted to college—to gain their place in the nation he loved so much.

After Helaine’s passing in 2017, Jerry was grateful to find a second love: Anne Plaut, who he knew from decades-past local political causes. Jerry and Anne enjoyed eating at favorite restaurants, going to shows, and trips to Texas, Martha’s Vineyard, Washington DC, and the Berkshires. Jerry had two younger sisters, Judith Green, who lives in Italy, and the late Rosemary Koenig. He is survived by his three daughters, Laurie Green (James Fabris), Andrea Green, and Claudia Green (Michael Massey), grandchildren Renata Green (Zach), Marisol Pacajá (Zander Wahl), Benjamin Pacajá (Marianne Birkner), Liana Massey-Green, Tansy Massey-Green (Anna Detloff), and Sarafina Fabris-Green; nieces Serena Greci Green and Adriana Greci Green (David Penney); nephews Peter, Paul and Adam Clive (the late David Clive); and many lifelong friends and relatives. The family is forever thankful to Jerry’s loving caregivers, Dinara Machaidze and Maria (Marekhi) Gunia.

Burial will be private; the family will host Shiva at Jerry’s home on Thursday November 6 and Friday November 7, 4-7pm, and at the home of Claudia and Michael on Tuesday November 11 from 5-8pm. A celebration of Jerry’s life is planned for January 2026. Jerry’s family gratefully suggests that any donations may be made in his honor to the ACLU of NJ or to English for New Bostonians.