Michael John Greenberg

Michael John Greenberg obituary, St Augustine, FL

Michael John Greenberg

Michael Greenberg Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers from Jul. 24 to Jul. 30, 2023.
St Augustine - Michael John Greenberg

(9/28/1931 - 7/19/2023)

Michael J. Greenberg, Ph.D. fondly known as "Greenberg", former director of the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, town of Marineland, Florida, passed away peacefully on the morning of July 19 in St. Augustine, at the age of 91. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he was the eldest child of Lena Greenberg and Abraham Greenberg, the lead patent attorney for the RCA Corporation. Greenberg was a highly regarded researcher, instructor, and administrator-as well as a beloved member of the St. Augustine community.

Greenberg began his long tenure at the Whitney Lab in 1981. Although he formally retired from that position in 1996, his influence there and at the University of Florida continued for many years. Well into the new millennium, Greenberg held research and administrative roles at the lab.

Spanning more than sixty years, his scientific career and academic history include a bachelor's degree in science from Cornell University, a Master of Science at Florida State University, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Shortly after earning his Ph.D., Greenberg took a position as a professor of invertebrate zoology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He then-on the heels of a post-doctoral sabbatical from UI-returned to FSU as a professor in the Department of Zoology. He also served as Editor (then Editor-in-Chief) of The Biological Bulletin at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

A leading expert on invertebrate neurophysiology, Greenberg concentrated on malacology, the study of clams. His studies often focused on the specialized neuropeptides that control cardiac rhythms in the common quahog species: this work led him to institutional teaching and research positions in Hiroshima and Misaki, Melbourne, and Hong Kong.

Greenberg's scientific work was supported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Noted for his sardonic sense of humor, whimsy, and a certain rakish sensibility on every topic, he frequently peppered even the most academic treatises with verses and asides. He was also fond of aphorisms. It's not hard to imagine, for example, that if he were somehow elected President of the United States (stranger things have happened), his first order of business would be to replace the Presidential Seal with a plaque reading Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels-his favorite valediction and general sign-off for every conversation.

An avid lover of languages, especially Japanese (Shikata ga nai: loosely translating to indicate "a letting go of what cannot be changed") and Yiddish and Russian (Oy! Bozhe moy!: "My God! Oh, my God!")

Active in St. Augustine's environmental community, Greenberg was a founder and president of the local advocacy and conservation group Friends of Matanzas. He also chaired the A1A Scenic Highway committee, which resulted in a federal Scenic Byway Designation. He spent decades bringing scientific expertise to bear on a variety of local environmental and development issues. His advocacy work contributed to the designation of the Matanzas River as a National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of the few remaining intact marine ecosystems in the state of Florida. This advocacy wasn't just academic: as a part of a community effort to preserve the history of southeastern St. Johns County, Greenberg became one of the co-owners of Genung's Fish Camp, an historic anchor within the tiny hamlet of Crescent Beach.

Although the word marine is sprinkled like beach sand throughout his CV, Greenberg was-paradoxically and famously-averse to swimming in the ocean. "I only swim in bodies of water where a white line is painted on the bottom," he adamantly maintained.

That said, he was not the least bit squeamish when it came to slogging about in the brackish and sulfuric muck of your average Floridian saltmarsh. These wetlands were, in fact, his favorite stomping grounds, as any participant in his (in)famous Marsh Walks might corroborate. "AHA! Good God!" Greenberg would exclaim with unbridled enthusiasm after spotting any tell-tale sign of the elusive Chaetopterus (parchment tube worm). "Look! Look, would you just look at this!" (Back when the novel Dune was just a spark in Frank Herbert's eye, Greenberg was already the Muad'Dib of the Marsh, a bonafide Worm Whisperer.) He somehow could sense where these worms were lurking within the marsh-and, in one fell swoop, would plunge his arm straight into the muck up to his shoulder, then quickly pull up the prize of a 10-inch segmented filter feeder clutched tightly in his fist. "This is just FANTASTIC!"

A longtime member (as well as Paul Harris Fellow) of the St. Augustine Sunrise Rotary Club, Greenberg was famous for his entertaining analyses of "The Rotarian," Rotary International's monthly magazine, his gimlet editorial eye assessing and presenting the finer points of each publication's hits and misses.

Greenberg was an avid cyclist and runner, and some say, an enthusiastic dancer and a fearless short-order cook. Thanks to his remarkable penmanship, Greenberg's maps and directions were legend, rivaling GPS in graphic accuracy. His musicianship was, if not sublime, at the very least entertaining; and he was, at one time, quite the banjo plucker. You might rightly assume that, had he lived longer, Greenberg would've also mastered that ukelele. He had a prodigious memory for (as well as the willingness to heartily belt out) the verses of countless hymns, novelty songs and Tin Pan Alley standards.

A passionate reader, Greenberg's bookshelves were packed with tomes on religion, treatises on science and medicine, and books covering every imaginable genre. His disparate tastes ranged from Saul Bellow to Patrick O'Brian, all the while peppered with poetry and the likes of H. P. Lovecraft.

In addition to Greenberg's intellectual contributions to the scientific world, his extensive philanthropic activity was quietly made manifest through numerous scholarships, sponsorships, and patronages within the artistic and educational community. He considered these his "best investments." He will be greatly missed by everyone whose life or career he touched.

Predeceased by his first wife Rima Robbins and eldest son Peter Greenberg, Michael J. Greenberg is survived by his wife and partner Becky Hamilton Greenberg; his sons Karl Philip Greenberg (Lydia Gaston-Greenberg) and John Kirsch Greenberg; granddaughter Maya Greenberg; stepdaughter Sudie Nolan-Cassimatis (Dimitri Cassimatis); stepson Hamilton Nolan; step-grandchildren Lilo Rebecca Cassimatis, Elena Maro Cassimatis, and Silla Rose Cassimatis; his sister Ellen Koepel, and his brother Peter Greenberg. Counted amongst Greenberg's survivors is the extended Hamilton family.

Go in peace, Michael J. Greenberg: Shikata ga nai.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, September 3, 2023, 4:30-7:30pm at The Whitney Lab.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:

The Friends of Matanzas

1093 A1A Beach Boulevard

PMB #205

St. Augustine, FL 32080

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Sign Michael Greenberg's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

July 18, 2024

Rebecca Fremo posted to the memorial.

January 11, 2024

Joffre Mercier posted to the memorial.

September 2, 2023

Becky (Greenberg) Fremo and fa planted trees.

Rebecca Fremo

July 18, 2024

I always looked forward to those rare visits with Uncle Mike as a child, but what I loved most was emailing him and sharing our interest in poetry. What an amazing man. Thinking of all those he loved today.

Joffre Mercier

January 11, 2024

Michael had a great influence on my career, not just because I've worked on FMRFamides and similar neuropeptides for 40 years, but because he encouraged me. I still recall discussing some of my findings with him at the SFN meeting, when he asked me where I was going to submit the work for publication. I responded, "Oh, I don't know...I've been thinking about sending it to Physiological Zoology." He immediately bellowed, "PZ?? PZ?? Don't send it to PZ...send it to Biological Bulletin!!" I did, of course, and I was delighted to see the work published there. Michael had the warmest and most wonderful sense of humour, and I really enjoyed being around him. I met him many times, beginning around 1980 when he came to Calgary while I was a grad student there. I'm sorry to hear that he has passed, but I will always hold my memories of him close to my heart. Joffre Mercier

Group of 10 Memorial Trees

Becky (Greenberg) Fremo and fa

Planted Trees

Single Memorial Tree

Tatiana Moroz

Planted Trees

Art Edison

September 1, 2023

I heard of Mike Greenberg for several years before I met him. During my time in Tony Stretton's lab, we would refer almost daily to "Price and Greenberg", because they started the whole field of FMRFamide peptides with their famous 1977 Science paper. Knowing that Mike was at the University of Florida was a big part in my decision to join the faculty there in 1996. It was always a pleasure and a treat for me to visit the Whitney lab and stop to visit with Mike while he was still active. Condolences to all of his family and friends. He will be missed! Art

Bonnie Hayflick

September 1, 2023

Dear Becky, Expressing my sincerest condolences to you and family on the loss of our dear neighbor and friend Mike Greenberg.

paul brehm

August 17, 2023

I spent summers in the experimental invert course at the MBL where he would wander mudflats in Barnstable, pick up all sorts of animals and then eat them. He told us that it was mandatory to eat the animal you work on. His gift of communication, filling the chalk board with remarkably accurate anatomy, getting everyone involved in his clam heart preparation all stand clear in my memory. He was quite the man.

Sam Edwards

August 11, 2023

Greenberg was truly unique! He was my academic grandfather as I worked with Skip Pierce, and then I got to know him much better, working with Barbara Battelle as a post doc at the Whitney Lab. This picture was of Greenberg with some of his former grad students at Chris and Skip Pierce´s home after he was honored by the Florida Academy of Sciences in Tampa in 2011. Greenberg was renowned for his stories and his inspiration for so many of us.

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Dimitri Cassimatis

August 7, 2023

Michael was truly a kind soul, a scholar, and a gentleman - while being just a little bit of a mischief lover. He welcomed me into the family and always had a twinkle in his eye as we shared some of the joys of marrying in to the Hamilton Family. I have missed his presence - his full personality - for some time; and I am so glad he can finally rest and be whole again.

Wendy Wiltse

August 5, 2023

A beautiful obit for an unforgettable character. I was a teaching assistant under Mike for a few summers in Woods HOle. He scared me and entertained me. I am grateful the the opportunities he gave me and for knowing this big-hearted and entertaining character. Aloha Mike!

Josh Greenberg

July 30, 2023

Uncle Mike was a beloved member of our family. I have fond memories of him driving to visit with his turtles in his van. My sister and I always loved to see him. Condolences to all whose lives he touched.

Kimberly Harnage

July 30, 2023

Mike was wonderful man! I´m so sorry for your loss!
Love, Kim Harnage

sarah

July 29, 2023

Greenberg was one of the most wonderful people I have ever met & grown to love! He will be deeply missed

Sarah

July 28, 2023

Greenburg was one of the most wonderful people I have ever met & grown to love! He will be deeply missed

Kimberly Graf

July 28, 2023

With great humility and admiration - rest easy and thank you for leaving NE FL forever beautiful

Richard McLean

July 27, 2023

I will always remember Dr. Greenberg demonstrating bilateral symmetry in class by taking a piece of chalk in each hand and drawing both halves of an organism at the same time. Great teacher and fun to learn from!

Zila Wapinski

July 27, 2023

What an amazing and inspiring life he had! May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.

Hork

July 25, 2023

You who didn't know Mike Greenberg missed a truly individual and exquisite and a most entertaining man. He will be missed.

Showing 1 - 27 of 27 results

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Sign Michael Greenberg's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

July 18, 2024

Rebecca Fremo posted to the memorial.

January 11, 2024

Joffre Mercier posted to the memorial.

September 2, 2023

Becky (Greenberg) Fremo and fa planted trees.