Joyce West Green

1928 - 2017

January 20, 1928 - January 22, 2017 Joyce Green passed away at Providence Saint John's Health Center in the early hours of January 22, 2017, at the just-turned age of 89. Born in Manhattan, Joyce was the only child of Gloria and Leon West. She subsequently moved with her family to Beverly Hills and graduated from Beverly Hills High School at the ripe old age of 16 and then attended and graduated from Stanford University. At Stanford, Joyce met the love of her life, Jack Green, and they married in 1949. Their only son, Neal, was born in 1951 in Los Angeles. Joyce was ahead of her time as a working mother and was an office manager for a group of allergists before starting her own medical billing business, Medi-Sec. Inc. Early in her Medi-Sec career, Dr. Donald L. Morton, the head of UCLA's Division of Surgical Oncology, became her client. Joyce gradually transitioned to Dr. Morton's business office manager and her son Neal took over the day to day management of Medi-Sec. Tragically her husband, Jack, was diagnosed and died of cancer in 1989 while a patient of Dr. Morton's. In her capacity as the business office manager, Joyce had the honor of being introduced to John Wayne and his family which ultimately led to her connection to the John Wayne Cancer Center. She helped facilitate the move to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica where it became the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Joyce's involvement with JWCI was the catalyst for her transition from the business aspects of medicine to the development and chartable aspects of medicine. Her long career in development included positions with not only the John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) but also the Cancer Support Community (CSC), and the California Oncology Research Institute (CORI) headed by Dr. Anton Bilchik. Joyce was honored multiple times for her dedication, receiving the JWCI Auxiliary Ellen Cooperman "Angel" Award, the JWCI Auxiliary "Duke" Award, the NBC4 Life Connected Award and the CSC Wellness Award. Her lifelong commitment to helping others grew out of her personal experience having contracted polio at the young age of 26. It gave her insight into the tremendous impacts of chronic and disabling illness. She was empathetic and generous to a fault and many relationships that started as business became life-long friendships. Her extensive circle of friends was considered by her to be an extension of her family. In addition to her career, Joyce took great pleasure in her son and daughter-in-law, Neal and Pamela, and her grandsons and their wives, Joshua and Katherine, and Bradley and Caitlin. She enjoyed traveling the world with her family and friends, exploring Europe, the Panama Canal, the Far East, Australia, and Canada, as well as, locales throughout the United States. She also loved to dine out and loved being the first to discover the newest hot restaurant. Joyce was also an avid black jack, bridge and mahjong player. Joyce is also survived by her sister-in-law, Ruth Greenspan and niece, Carolyn Greenspan, and her "second" family, the Perkals, Gordon, Janine & Bryan. Joyce was blessed with many kind and compassionate caregivers throughout her life, most especially Elloreen Leonard and Maria "Trini" Fausto. The family wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Providence Saint John's Health Center for their loving care in her final days. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to CORI, 3118 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. E, Santa Monica, CA 90403-2345 (1-310-883-0096) or JWCI, website: california.providence.org/john-wayne/giving/donate-now-form (1-310-315-6111).