Laconia------Rev. Frank E. Greene, 99, of The Taylor Community, died on Monday, March 28, 2016 after a brief illness.
Rev. Greene was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Frank E. Greene Jr. and Winifred Hollis (Goldsmith) Greene of Brookline, Mass. and Moultonborough, New Hampshire. The family moved to Bradenton, Florida, in 1920, and lived there most of each year until 1938, spending long summers every year on Lake Winnepesaukee.
He graduated from Manatee High School in 1934, and from Harvard College in 1938. His classmates at Harvard included Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (who died in World War II) , Arthur Schlesinger, and Caspar Weinburger. Rev. Greene completed seminary studies at the Episcopal Theological School in June,1942, and was ordained to the Episcopal Diaconate in July. He worked as Curate at Trinity Church, Boston, from July 1942 until the summer of 1943.
In October 1942, he married the former Lois Elizabeth Neupert. They moved to Saugus in 1943 where Rev. Greene became Rector of St. James Episcopal Church. In 1947, Rev. Greene moved to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dorchester, and then to St. Chrysostom’s in Wollaston (Quincy), Massachusetts. In 1962 he left the full-time parish ministry to undertake clinical training for chaplaincy, and served in part-time roles as priest-in-charge and vicar in Brighton, Holliston, and Shirley Center, Mass. From 1970 to 1972 he served as Protestant Chaplain in Ancora State Mental Hospital in Hammonton, New Jersey. He then moved to Moultonborough, New Hampshire, where his wife Lois died in 1973. Rev. Greene joined the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. He served at St. Mark’s, Ashland, until his retirement in 1982. In retirement, he acted as supply clergy to parishes in Laconia, Meredith, and Tamworth, and offered pastoral care at local hospitals and nursing homes.
He married the former Edith Leonard Smith in 1978. They moved to the Taylor Community in Laconia in 2005. Rev. Greene was active for many years in the New Hampshire Poetry Society (he was Poet Laureate for a year, and self-published nine volumes of his poetry), the Moultonborough Historical Society, and the Sons of the Mayflower. His many talents included classical music performance and composition, bonsai, wood sculpture and gardening, and he was also deeply interested in genealogy and conservation.
Rev. Greene leaves his wife, Edith L. Greene, and three daughters: Dr. Judith Greene Holt of Auckland, New Zealand and Moultonborough, Mary N. Greene of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Elizabeth Greene Thompson and her husband Carl V. Thompson of Acton, Mass. and Moultonborough. He also leaves seven grandchildren: Alan L. Holt, John H. Holt, and Anna L. Holt, of Auckland, New Zealand, Sarah Nagle Null of Huntsville, AL, Margaret Lamb Nesterov of Hillsborough, NC, Lucas G. Thompson of Chelmsford, MA, Henry H. Thompson of Madison, WI, and Heather L. Thompson of Medford, MA. He also leaves seven great-grandchildren.
Visiting hours will be Friday, April 1, 2016 from 5:00pm-7:00pm Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street, using the Carriage House entrance.
A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church 93 NH-25, Meredith, NH 03253 on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 2:00pm.
Burial will be private.
Gifts in Rev. Greene’s memory may be made to the Trinity Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 635, Meredith, NH 03253
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneu-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia NH is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www. wilkinsonbeane.com.