JOSEPH BENJAMIN GREEN

1947 - 2022

GREEN, Joseph Benjamin Of Cambridge, Massachusetts, passed away on August 17, 2022 at 74 from pancreatic cancer. An accomplished attorney and tennis player, Joe was known for his integrity and agility, both in court and on the court. Born in 1947 in New York City, Joe attended Horace Mann School for junior high and high school, followed by Yale University, where he majored in American studies. Upon graduation in 1969, he completed one year at Harvard Law School. He then took a four-year hiatus, during which he served on the Washington, D.C. police force and won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study the French police. But, as it turned out, the French police did not want to be studied. All was not lost, however, as he met his future wife, Carol (a fellow New Yorker), in Paris, where she had been working as a textile designer. After embarking on a three-month backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, Joe and Carol returned to the United States, and he completed the last two years of Harvard Law School, graduating in 1976. Shortly after his law school graduation, Joe and Carol married. Together they have three children, Jeff, Ariana, and Nick. Jeff and his husband, Adam, live in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have two sons, Zac and Ethan. Ariana and her husband, Sam, live in Scarsdale, New York, and have three children, Jella, Jake, and Ezra. Nick lives between New York City and Cambridge, where he has been assisting with Joe's care since his diagnosis. Joe's law career spanned over 40 years, beginning when he joined Hutchins & Wheeler, a Boston law firm. Always drawn to public service, he left private practice and spent the next decade serving as Chief District Court Prosecutor and Director of Policy and Planning for Essex County, Massachusetts. In 1989, Joe returned to private practice, joining the Boston law firm of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, and soon became a partner. His practice areas included special education, personal injury, criminal law, and disability rights. In addition, he authored a book and several articles on evidence, trial practice and procedure, and criminal law. Outside of the office, Joe was an advocate for disability rights and served on the board of the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. Joe was an avid tennis player. He played every Tuesday evening with a steady group of friends for more than 30 years and was a loyal member of the Cambridge Tennis Club, where he also served on the board. He and his son Nick won the father-son doubles championship in 2009. He also won the men's doubles championships in 2002 and 2006. Joe always looked forward to his weekly golf outings, which occurred on the many Wednesday afternoons he and his golf group took off from work to hit the links. In addition to the local greens, they also enjoyed traveling to play courses across the United States and in other parts of the world. Joe was a beloved son of Ruth Finley Lein, the founder and publisher of The Fashion Calendar, and of Hank Green. He is survived by his brothers, Jim Green of Brewer, Maine, and Larry Lein of Cresskill, New Jersey. There will be a memorial service in September, the time and date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Joseph B. Green can be made to the ACLU of Massachusetts: https://bit.ly/JoeGreenTribute