Henry C. Greaves

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Canisius College Northeastern University

Henry Greaves Obituary

Henry C. Greaves retired Dracut schoolteacher, originator of high school golf program, Korean War vet; 79 DRACUT Mr. Henry C. Greaves, age 79, a longtime resident of Dracut, died Friday, August 8, 2008, at Saints Medical Center. He was the beloved husband of Therese L. (Martin) Greaves. Born in Lowell on August 11, 1928, he was the son of the late Henry T. and Gertrude M. (McHale) Greaves. He was a graduate of Keith Academy, Canisius College, and received his Masters degree from Northeastern University. Mr. Greaves was a U.S. Army Veteran having served during the Korean Conflict. He was a longtime parishioner of Ste Marguerite d'Youville Parish in Dracut. Prior to his retirement, he was a teacher with the Dracut Public School system and was in charge of the Business Department. He was the originator of the Dracut High School Golf Program and also served as an instructor. Mr. Greaves was a Director and Counselor of the former Camp Alexander in Pelham, NH. He served as an official for Football and Basketball games for several private and public schools in the Merrimack Valley Conference. He was also a longtime member of the Mt. Pleasant Golf Club. Surviving him in addition to his wife are two daughters and five grandchildren, Glenda M. Greaves and her two sons, A. Joseph LeBlanc III and Jonathan H. LeBlanc, both of Clarksville, NH, and Terry M. (Greaves) Clark of Westford and her children, Kathleen Clark of Hoboken, NJ, Patrick Clark and Alexander Clark, both of Westford; a nephew and his wife, James A. and Donna M. Martin of Dracut; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Rita and Harry Peters of Dracut, Omer G. and Rosemarie Martin of Pelham, NH, Fleurette and Normand Ouellette of Nashua, NH, Will and Dolores Martin of Dracut, Emile and Carol Martin of Pelham, NH, Pete and Janet Martin of Dracut, Antonio Martin of Dracut, and Normand and Alice Martin of Chelmsford. He was also the father-in-law of the late David W. Clark who died in 2006, the brother of the late M. Barbara Martin who died in 2002, and the brother-in-law of the late Yvonne "Honey" Martin. GREAVES Mr. Henry C. Greaves, 79, a resident of Dracut, husband of Therese L. (Martin) Greaves, and a United States Army Veteran. Relatives and friends may call at the ROLAND W. MARTIN FUNERAL HOME, 308 Pawtucket St., Lowell, on Tuesday from 4 until 8 p.m. ATTENDANT PARKING. Funeral Wednesday morning with a Funeral Mass to be celebrated at 11 o'clock in Ste Marguerite d'Youville Parish, Dracut. Burial will follow in St. Patrick Cemetery, Lowell. Those wishing may make memorial contributions to The Poor Clare Monastery, 445 River Rd., Andover, MA 01810. Funeral Directors Roland W. Martin and Daniel R. Martin. 978-454-5214.

Published by Lowell Sun from Aug. 11 to Aug. 12, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Henry Greaves

12 Entries

David Conole

August 13, 2008

Mr. Greaves was an excellent Accounting teacher. When preparing any personal financial reports, I always think of his superb teaching methods. May God Bless Him.

Valerie Fadden

August 12, 2008

Dear Mrs. Greaves & Family,
I am so sorry to hear of Mr Greaves passing. He was such a wonderful man. When I talk about high school , I always speak about Mr Greaves he was one of my very favorite teachers. I would call him Harry and he would call me Valorie. He bought me a candy bar everyday. I loved him to pieces as did many other students. This is a very sad day for me, My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Steve Bourret

August 12, 2008

Dear Terry,

You know how much Harry meant to me. I once told him that other than my father he was the only other man I wanted to make proud of me. I know he was, as he always had a fondness in his heart for me. I learned a lot from him as teacher, golfer, mentor and friend. I'm truly going to miss him. With love,

Jim Martin

August 12, 2008

I'm sorry I could not make it. You are in my thoughts.

Glenda Greaves

August 12, 2008

A Farewell to Dad
I recall a funeral service that I recently attended. The eulogist stated that the letters in the person's name signify their human characteristics. With that in mind, I began to write the following: the "H" stands for Henry, but most people knew my dad as Harry. He wore many hats: son, brother, soldier, nephew,husband,brother-in-law,father,godfather to many,uncle, accountant, salesman, teacher, chairman, coach, ref, umpire, CCD teacher, camp counselor, assistant director, card partner and horse-owner. Another "H" would be for helping. My dad always helped others to the best of his ability, whether it was financially or giving someone a ride, writing reference letters, or making a telephone call. If they asked, he always obliged. The letter "H" also stands for handsome. There are not too many people who have had four natural hair colors. Going from carrot red, as a child, to auburn, and eventually to gray. He said the gray was the result of having children followed by going au'natural - white. Harry was also a horseman who proudly owned a third of a thoroughbred. He proudly displayed her portrait at home. My dad named the horse after his two loves: The first is my mother, whom he cherished for over 56 years. They loved each other very much. I thank you mom for being a loving caregiver to my dad. Dad's second home was the golf club, Mount Pleasant, where he played in many a golf and card tournaments. Harry came up with a perfect name for his beloved filly: "My Tee Pleasant". The first word, "My" stood for his ownership in the horse. "Tee" represented the love he had for his wife, Terry, followed by "Pleasant," where the three partners were members of the golf club. He was proud of her and his partnership.

The letter "E" is for educator. My dad loved to teach children at school or camp. His famous quirk in school was to always make the answer for question ten , "c." He loved to see his students' reaction when they figured it out. That was my dad's humor! Eventually, the students caught on and everyone got at least one answer correct on the test. He always expected and demanded superior performance from his students.

The letter "N" stood for narrator. My dad loved to tell stories. He was a historian by nature. He loved history and would reflect on different eras of American History. Paraphrasing Robert Maynard Hutchins, "To kill society, we don't have to burn books, we just need to leave them on the shelves unread." How true! My dad's passion was teaching. When offered the job to be the Director of the YMCA camp, he refused stating that his passion was to teach school. That is exactly what he did for over thirty years! My dad also earned the name "Bloodline" from researching the genealogy of many horses - another one of Harry's passions.

The letter "R" is for religious. My dad was a very religious man. His deeply imbedded faith began as a child. He fondly remembered one day, as a young boy, that he went for a boat ride with his uncles on the Concord River in Lowell. During this boating excursion, the uncles decided that it this would be the day that my dad would learn how to swim. So, they cast my dad out of the boat. Harry, however, did not know how to swim! He started to thrash around in the water, and in that moment prayed to Our Lady for help. He eventually started to float. She had helped him and he indeed did learn how to swim that day. From that moment forward, he never took off Our Lady's medal. He wears it today, as a testament to his faith.

Another family tradition that came from his mother, Gert, was taking care of the Poor Clare Sisters. Nana, as we called her, told the story that the Sisters would ring the bell when they were in need. My grandmother said that she only heard that bell ring once and that it should never be heard again. So, my dad always took good care of the Sisters.

Finally, the letter "Y", representing my dad's youthfulness. He loved sports, especially, football which earned him a scholarship to Harvard. He turned it down and instead went to Canisius College in Buffalo, NY with the Jesuits priests. My dad refereed many basketball and football games. He was also a little league softball coach. He played tennis at the plaza with my sister, Terry, and I. But, Harry was best known as Dracut's Golf Coach. He presented the idea to the school board. Who better to present a perfect scenario than Harry? After all, he played all sports! My father began his presentation with the following thought in mind, what sport was available to an aging population? With my dad's sales pitch, the school board easily approved the Dracut Golf Program.

In closing, during the later part of my dad's life, he would use acronyms. His famous was "WC" for who cares. Well, today, if you are listening dad, I am changing the "WC", because, like you 've said, we never spoke the same language. So, I am changing th "WC" from "who cares" to "we care," and we do! I hope to see you in the next paradigm, heaven! Until then, I love you my father, my friend! - Glenda

Cindy McAndrews

August 12, 2008

Dear Terry, Glenda and family
Please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Fondly, Cindy

August 12, 2008

Harry, Now you'll know "how high is high" and "how blue is blue". You were a wonderful Teacher.

Bruce Hutchins

August 12, 2008

Harry was a wonderful person... great teacher. As Principal, he was one of my valued professional leaders.
Have many fond memories.

Michelle (Rancourt) Dufault

August 11, 2008

My deepest sympathies to the Greaves family. Mr. Greaves was a great teacher.

Harry Casey

August 11, 2008

Our condolences to Terry and family Celyne and I have a lot of good memories about Harry..Last time I seen him was a couple of years ago at the race track.. God Bless

Kellie Perrault Mueller

August 11, 2008

My condolences to the Greaves Family.
He was a wonderful teacher and a great friend to many at Dracut High.

Karen ( Rourke ) Stockham

August 11, 2008

Mr Greaves was a wonderful teacher at DHS. He was always there for the kids, and seem to enjoy teaching. because he "always" had a smile on his face. I never seen him mad.
He will be missed !!!

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