Jean Greenhalgh Obituary

With great grace and dignity, Jean Burnham Greenhalgh, loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, passed away on March 21 in her sleep and in the presence of her children. She was well known in the Cloverdale area not only for organizing and running Cloverdale's first mental health outreach clinic, but for her work with children, her civic activities, her large network of friends, and as a mother figure for vulnerable individuals who came seeking her help. Indeed, she continued to receive phone calls seeking help and counseling into her 90s. During the 1960s and early 1970s, many a hitch-hiker and even a few runaways found shelter in her home. Jean was also woman of great courage. As a teenager and young woman she lost both her father and only sister to illness. At age 43, her husband of 14 years, Marlin Greenhalgh M.D., was killed in an airplane crash. Dr. Greenhalgh built the Medical Arts Building in Cloverdale (now Anderson Valley Medical Center) and practiced there until 1960. After her husband's death, Jean lovingly raised her four children while going back to work full-time as the insightful, compassionate, and generous psychiatric social worker she was trained to be. She subsequently helped organize Sonoma County's mental health outreach centers and was Director of the Cloverdale Mental Health Outreach Clinic until her retirement in 1983. She also served on the Cloverdale School Board, Cloverdale City Planning Commission, Cloverdale Senior Center advisory committee, and belonged to multiple civic organizations. In 1987, she was honored by the California State Legislature as Woman of the Year for her professional achievements. Born January 22, 1917, to Octavia Arbuckle and Silas Burnham in Salt Lake City, Jean grew up in Bountiful, graduated from high school at 16, went on to the University of Utah where she got her degree in English literature, and then received her Masters of Social Work from Case Western Reserve University in 1945. She was also linguistically gifted, speaking French with great élan and dabbling in various other languages. She married Marlin Greenhalgh in 1946, and moved to San Francisco in 1950 where her husband served his medical residency. In 1951, they moved to Cloverdale, where she has lived ever since. Open-minded and intellectual, with a deep intuitive understanding of people, Jean began her world travels in her 50s, making at least six international journeys. Her appreciation of people, cultures, the arts and music made her many friends and acquaintances and a positive fount of knowledge. Jean is survived by her four children, of whom she was so proud: Robert Greenhalgh (Carmela Cipollina), John Greenhalgh, Thea Greenhalgh, and Michael Greenhalgh. Though heart-broken by her passing, we are all immeasurably grateful for her life. Her seven cherished grandchildren will miss her greatly: Eric Affonso, Alison Greenhalgh Rockwood, Jessica Greenhalgh, Emilie Greenhalgh, Robert Marlin Greenhalgh, Frank Greenhalgh, and Anne Marie Greenhalgh. Jean also is survived by four great-grandchildren: Cecily, Ansel, Phoenix and Sequoia. We would like to acknowledge Mom's world-class internist, Dr. Richard Ganz, M.D., whose compassion and medical expertise are a wonder to us all. A Celebration of Jean's Life will be held May 21, 2011, 2:00 p.m., at the United Church of Christ, the ivy-covered church at 439 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale, CA 95425.