Marie Roder and Jerome George Green

1929 - 2020

Marie Roder Green
March 19,1929 – May 10,2020

Jerome George Green
April 20,1929 – April 26,2020

Jerome "Jerry" and Marie Green passed away just two weeks apart of COVID-19, dying as they lived – together. They met in freshman biology class at Brooklyn College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa four years later. They married in 1952 after Marie finished her Master of Science in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin. She joined Jerry at Albany Medical College where she completed her Ph.D. in pathology (1955) and he completed his medical degree (1954). They then embarked on a life dedicated to science and public service. Jerry and Marie are survived by their children Karen Green (Bob Yetvin) of Chevy Chase, MD and Paul Green (Avivah Goldman) of Arlington, MA as well as grandsons Will Yetvin and Jonah Goldman-Green, and nephew Gary Green.

Marie and Jerry enjoyed nightly dinner table discussions about lipoproteins and polyunsaturated fats. Yet the couple's mutual interests ranged well beyond science and included classical music, art, travel, social justice, theater, and politics. Jerry and Marie shared married life for 68 years, but came from different continents and circumstances.

Marie Röder was born in Vienna, Austria in 1929. At age nine, she and her parents (Ferdinand Röder and Anna Rezek Röder) fled the Nazis, to Switzerland, then France, and finally to safety in the United States. Moving frequently among New York City's boroughs, she finished at Julia Richman High School and was awarded a full Regents Scholarship to Cornell University, which she turned down because the family could not afford room and board. Instead, she lived at home while attending Brooklyn College. Attaining her Ph.D. directly after college, Marie was the exceedingly rare 1950s female career scientist. She was a laboratory researcher at: the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, OH; the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC; and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. In the course of her breast cancer research, she discovered a technique to easily detect carcinogens in lipstick dyes, which was dismissed by the Food and Drug Administration, only to have similar "discoveries" publicized two decades later. That experience led Marie to volunteer for Public Citizen's Health Research Group in her retirement.

Jerry Green was born in New York City in 1929, to Esther Deiber Green and Sam Green (born Greenberg) who were Jewish refugees from pogroms in Poland and forced conscription in Russia, respectively. The Green family, including Jerry's older brother Walter, ran a corner grocery in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Losing his father, and as a result their store, at age 17, Jerry persevered with his education, becoming a cardiologist. Jerry's unshakable commitment to the public good, led to a 40-year career in the Public Health Service (PHS). Assigned to the San Francisco PHS Hospital for his medical residency, his duties included weekly visits to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary to care for the inmates. In 1960, the young family relocated to Ohio, where Jerry joined the Research Division of the Cleveland Clinic. The family moved to Bethesda in 1965, where Jerry served as an Associate Director and a Division Director at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NIH. For nine years before retiring in 1995, Jerry was the Director of the NIH Division of Research Grants, in charge of allocating all NIH funding to external research partners. Jerry attained the rank of Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General in the PHS, conferred by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, and was recognized with numerous awards for distinguished service.

Marie and Jerry believed passionately in human and civil rights. Contributions to causes they supported are welcome; these include: HIAS, Doctors Without Borders, Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU and Physicians for Social Responsibility. No observances are presently planned. Condolences and remembrances appreciated via jerryandmariegreen@gmail.com">jerryandmariegreen@gmail.com">jerryandmariegreen@gmail.com">jerryandmariegreen@gmail.com