Farewell

When I had my tussle with stage 3 cancer back in ‘07-‘08, I was helped immensely psychologically by the counsel and empathy of an old friend from high school and Stanford, Jim Green.  Jim was himself battling an even more virulent form of the disease, a form of lung cancer (no, he never smoked) which had a miserable prognosis of 6-9 months of remission.  He had just finished his massive treatments when I started mine.  His emails were a great comfort and encouragement.  Jim beat the odds, and his remission lasted until the end of last year, when the disease returned, this time spreading to the brain and elsewhere.  He recommenced treatment.  He was a doctor and knew the science, but he never gave up hope, never complained, and just fought and fought.  Last week he couldn’t fight any longer. 

Good bye old friend.

James Floyd GREEN, M.D. November 17, 1944 - May 20, 2010 Jim was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Modesto, California where he was a star basketball player in high school. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in chemistry from Stanford University and obtained his MD from Stanford Medical School. After an internship in Minneapolis, he served in the Public Health Service for two years on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana, and then did an orthopedic residency at USC in Los Angeles. In 1980, he and his wife moved to Mercer Island, Washington, to raise their three sons near other members of their family. He soon founded the Evergreen Fracture and Orthopedic Clinic in Kirkland which has now grown into the Evergreen Orthopedic Center. He actively participated in Indian Guides with his boys and became the nation chief. An avid sportsman, he continually sought to improve himself in all manner of competition, and he coached youth soccer for many years, including an appearance in the state tournament. He had a great sense of humor and was extremely intelligent and principled. He loved to garden, and he recently applied his competitive spirit to bridge, attending numerous tournaments over the past few years. He will be missed by his wife, Jane, of 42 years; his three sons Jeff (wife Karen) in Redwood City, CA, Justin in Portland, OR, and Jamie in New York, NY; his mother Jeanne Bigelow; and his brother Roger. A memorial service will be held at the Bellevue Club at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 6.