John Henry Greenfield

John Henry Greenfield, 90, passed away peacefully August 12, 2025, with his devoted family at his side. Born in Rochester, New Hampshire, John was the son of the late Maurice H. Greenfield and Lois (Graves) Greenfield Cate. He grew up in Rochester, with the stirring sounds of a freight train and its whistle never far from home. John graduated from Spaulding High School with the class of 1953 and in 1958 earned a BS in Physics from the University of New Hampshire. During high school and college he worked at the former Ainslie's Drug in Rochester, and it was there that he remembers Hurricane Carol barreling down on the city in 1954. In summer, he also worked at the former Marshall House in York Harbor, preparing clam bakes on the beach. After graduation, John served 3 years in the United States Army at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, while taking advantage of classes in advanced mathematics. Following discharge, John was employed by Aerospace Corporation in southern California, providing technical support for the Apollo space program, which included the use of air balloons to assess pre-launch conditions. Upon returning to New England, John taught in the math department at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston for many years, while also earning his MS degree in Mathematics from Northeastern University. During this time, he met and married Margaret "Peggy" Hoffmeister FitzGerald, a book editor and talented graphic artist. They resided in Cambridge for a time and later resided in Foxborough and in Sharon, moving in retirement to Norwood, Mass. John worked for various companies in technical positions in the Boston area, including the Foxboro Company and Digital Equipment Company. In the early 1990's, John was employed by Cadre Technologies, Inc., a software company. John was active in the company newsletter, Cadroid Tabloid, for which he was a staff member and frequent contributor. John was an avid hiker and climber and summited a long list of mountains in the Whites. He was most fond of Mt. Monadnock and would often toss his backpack and hiking boots in the car and head out in the early morning, even into his 80's. The family became accustomed to his cell phone calls from the base of the mountain, happy to relate news of his day's adventure. In later years, John became an enthusiastic and skilled player of Scrabble and was always up to a challenge. He had always loved classical music and would often drive to a quiet spot and listen on his car radio. It was on many of these drives that John would gather images and ideas for his prolific Haiku; numbering in the hundreds. He was most proud of his personal library of books and would engage any visitor in conversation about his favorites – often involving mathematics. His ability to recall and recite complex mathematical formulas with ease was impressive. John's intellect, humor and knowledge of a broad range of topics brought him many friends. John was devoted to family and would proudly introduce each of us to those around him. We will miss his presence in our lives. John leaves his wife of 60 years, Margaret Greenfield; a sister, Linda Langendorfer (Dwight) of Plymouth; a son, Henry L. Greenfield of Massachusetts; and a daughter, Carolyn Greenfield (David Gall) of Connecticut; seven grandchildren; and beloved nieces and nephews: Jennifer Blaisdell, Susan Blaisdell, Marcia Brown, Kennedy Langendorfer, John Blaisdell, James Brown and Tyler Langendorfer. John was predeceased by a sister, Anne (Greenfield) Brown and a daughter, Katherine "Katie" (Greenfield) Dress.