Mrs. Beatrice Peck "Beattie" Greene

Beatrice Peck “Beattie” Greene, age 88, passed away at Heather Glen at Arden Woods following an extended illness. Beattie was born on January 29, 1925 in the Bronx, New York. A first-generation American, she was the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia. Beattie excelled in school and also as a vocalist. She attended Hunter College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music, training as an opera singer and performing in Carnegie Hall. Following graduation, she worked in a series of administrative jobs in New York City during and after World War II, including a position in internal communications for Universal Pictures. In 1950, she married Stanley Greene, an army veteran of World War II. The couple, who celebrated 50 years of marriage before Stanley’s death in 2000, relocated to the Washington, D.C., area, where they raised two sons and lived for the majority of their lives. Beattie was a lifelong learner with a spirit of adventure, earning a M.A. degree in English literature from the University of Maryland and an M.S. degree in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College. She accompanied Stanley to many overseas posts over the course of his career with the U.S. Census Bureau, including to Ethiopia, Jamaica, Senegal and Bangladesh. Her own varied career evolved over the years from teaching composition to adult students into professional writing and editing work for publications as well as for corporate and government clients. Eventually, she shifted into international relations, serving as an editor and then an analyst for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. She was recognized by the military for her work during Operation Desert Storm and developed a particular focus on Bulgaria and Romania at a time when the region was undergoing dramatic change due to the fall of communist regimes and the Balkan War in the former Yugoslavia. As a first-generation American, she was particularly proud to serve her country in this way. A devoted sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she was a gifted storyteller with a vivid appreciation of all forms of the arts and a keen sense of observation deeply valued by those who knew her. Following her relocation to Asheville on a permanent basis in 2001, she became an active member of Congregation Beth HaTephila. She was also very active in a local writer’s group and heavily involved with her neighborhood community group at Pinnacle Pointe. She is survived by her sister, Claire Peck Orenzow, and her two sons and daughters-in-law, Leonard “Lenny” and Helaine Greene of Asheville, N.C., and James “Jamie” and Elizabeth “Fritzie” Greene of Beaufort, N.C. She is also survived by her four grandchildren, Rebecca Morphis, Jenny Rawlings, Hadley Greene and Michael Greene, as well as four great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and many other relatives and friends. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM, Friday, March 29, 2013 at Congregation Beth HaTephila, 43 N. Liberty Street with Rabbi Batsheva Meiri officiating. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 PM, Thursday at Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Avenue. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to L'Dor V'Dor Fund, C/O Beth HaTephila, 43 N. Liberty Street, Asheville, NC 28801.

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Mrs. Beatrice Peck "Beattie" Greene

January 29, 1925 - March 26, 2013