Michael Joseph Greene, 84, was a resident of Kansas City from 1959 until he retired to Pagosa Springs, Colo., in 1999. He was a founding member and active in The Geezers in Pagosa, a volunteer in hospice and in the court system, and a member of the Pagosah Unitarian Fellowship. He returned to Kansas City in 2008 as a patient of the Veterans Administration Medical Center. He died a peaceful death on Dec. 30.
Mike was born April 7, 1928, in Wheeling, W.V., to Michael Andrew and Tess Fahey Greene. He is survived by his wife Biz Driscoll Greene, his sister, Joan Kuglen, of San Diego, son Denis (Jennifer) of Kansas City, daughters Monica (Cappy White) of Pagosa, Brigid of Parkville, and Kate of Olympia, Wash., as well as grandchildren Kiley White, Cela White, Ryan and Harper Thies, and Dan, Mary Grace, Kelly Ann and John Greene. He was predeceased by his oldest son, Mike A., a student at the Conservatory of Music and an accomplished musician.
Mike is remembered in Kansas City especially for organizing the launch of the city’s first Renaissance Festival as a benefit for the Kansas City Art Institute; as manager of “City in Celebration,” a week of 124 arts and performance events in 1979; and as founding publisher of The National Catholic Reporter.
During the war in Korea, Mike was a combat correspondent with the Seventh Infantry Division. In civilian life, he became a writer and editor for newspapers in Louisville, Baltimore and Kansas City.
A memorial service will be held at Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City, and later in Pagosa Springs. Mike was an avid supporter of small businesses and creative expression. In lieu of flowers, consider making a perpetual loan to the Mike Greene Memorial fund on Kiva.org, which supports small businesses and craftspeople worldwide. Click on http://goo.gl/ZpAfa to make it happen.
