John A. "Jay" Greene

John A. “Jay” Greene of Belmont passed away peacefully at his home on June 11, 2024, at the age of 78. He was the beloved husband for almost 53 years of Deborah (Howard); and the devoted father of Stephanie Moyer and her husband Shannon of Downingtown, PA; and Justin Greene and his wife Danielle of Sudbury, MA. He was the treasured Boom Boom of six grandchildren, whom he adored: Colin, Trent, Grant, Charlotte, Ryan, and Camden.

He was predeceased by his parents John J. and Anne Greene and his siblings Margaret Healy, Janet Sullivan, and Joseph Greene. He is survived by many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Jay lived in Charlestown until he was seven then moved with his family to Belmont, where his father ran the William J. Cox (later John J. Greene) Funeral Home. He graduated from Belmont High School in 1963, and went on to study at New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science and Embalming in Kenmore Square.

Jay had a way with people—no one was ever a stranger. He treated everyone with kindness and loved to make others laugh. As a funeral director in Belmont for more than 45 years, he would put people at ease during the most difficult times of their lives. To many he was known as “The Mayor.”

Jay was a storyteller who loved to recall the fun times he had boating and waterskiing in Littleton, hanging out with his crew at Fran Garber’s gas station in Cushing Square, working at Corbett Drugs where he met his wife Debbie, getting together on Sundays after church with The Mimosas, and stories about coaching and watching his kids play soccer, basketball, hockey and baseball.

He was an active Belmontian throughout most of his adult life. He was a Town Meeting Member, a member of the Town of Belmont Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee, the Belmont Town Club, and Belmont Boosters’ Club, for which he ran the annual golf tournament for many years. He was on the Belmont Fire Station Reuse Committee, and later on the Fire Station Building Committee. He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Belmont, and a long time Corporator of Belmont Savings Bank, serving as a member of the BSB Board of Directors in 2009 when the bank went public, through 2019 upon the acquisition of BSB by Peoples United.

Later in life he discovered a love of travel. The man who swore he would never set foot “on a boat in the middle of the ocean” ended up sailing on many cruises, including through the Panama Canal, to Alaska, and all over the Caribbean. He convinced his family members it was the only way to travel. Even in the last six months of his life, he fulfilled his last bucket list item by visiting Pearl Harbor and the Battleship Missouri, and he made it to four Hawaiian Islands on the Norwegian Pride of America, including to the top of Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala Crater.

Jay will be dearly missed. Most of all we will miss his smile and hearing his jokes and stories (even those we know by heart).

Late U. S. Marine Corp Veteran.

Visiting hours will be in the Brown & Hickey Funeral Home 36 Trapelo Road Belmont on Monday July 8th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday July 9th in St Luke Church 132 Lexington Street Belmont at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends invited. Interment Belmont Cemetery, Belmont.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to The Angelman Syndrome Foundation, 3015 E. New York Street, Suite A2 #285, Aurora, IL 60504 https://www.angelman.org/

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