William Jack Green

2001 - 2020

William ("Jack") Green

2001-2020

Our beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, friend and teammate William ("Jack") Green of Huntington Beach, CA tragically ended his life at the age of 19 on September 5th in Walnut Creek, CA. His rapid decline in mental health was caused by many factors, central to which was the Covid19 quarantine. Jack's family and friends struggle to understand the delusion and despair which lead to this, when his life held such promise.

Jack Green was a handsome, charismatic and loving young man with an engaging demeanor, and an ever-present smile that could light up a room. Compassionate, caring and loyal to his many friends and family, Jack's passing has affected people in several communities where he was well-regarded. He was born in Newport Beach, and lived in Huntington Beach until his father's work took the family to Napa. It was in Napa that Jack discovered his first true love, water polo. He played center and excelled, becoming a national class athlete in junior high school. Jack's parents moved the family to Huntington Beach in 2015 in order to give him a shot at his father's life experience in athletics.

At Huntington Beach High School, he made varsity his sophomore year, playing with a group of athletes among the best in the country who narrowly missed becoming the top ranked high school water program in the nation in 2016. His tenacity and endurance under a grueling training regimen earned him a starting position and recruitment to the University of California, Irvine water polo program. Jack was in the middle of his freshman year at UCI when the quarantine was declared. He was passionate about exercise and weightlifting, working hard during the pandemic to maintain his fitness level and physique acquired from years of water polo. A true athlete, Jack was always challenging himself.

Jack loved his family's traditions, particularly their historical cabin at Fallen Leaf Lake in Lake Tahoe which his great grandfather built in 1945. He often spoke of fond memories made there, and a future where he would inherit the cabin and pass his family's tradition to a fifth generation.

Jack Green is survived by his parents William Sr. ("Bill") and Julie Green, sister Victoria ("Tori") and half-brothers Joshua Haynes of Huntington Beach and James Shortt (wife Melony) of Humboldt County. Jack is also survived by grandparents Pat and Larry Mertens of Huntington Beach, and Barbara Green of Truckee. Also, his aunts Sarah Green of Truckee and Carolyn Westgaard of Palo Alto, and Erik Van Pelt, his uncle, of Arlington, Texas. Jack is also survived by his girlfriend of almost two years, Madisynn Habibi of Huntington Beach.

In lieu of flowers his family asks that donations be made in the name of Jack Green to the Youth Outreach Program at St. James Episcopal Church at 3209 Via Lido in Newport Beach, CA 92663 Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM Saturday, September 19 also at St. James Episcopal Church. For those who can't attend, the service will be live streamed at the church's website stjamesnewport.org. A Huntington Beach traditional paddle-out will be held Thursday, September 17 at 5:30 PM at Tower 3.