Gerald Greenstein

Born on Feb 9, 1945 in New Bedford, Mass., he was the son of the late Morris and Harriet Bloom Greenstein.

He was father of Matthew Greenstein (Andrea) of Randolph, N.J., and Andrew Greenstein of Jamestown; stepfather of Jon Henry (Tessie) of Cartersville, Ga.,, and Jay (Alexandra) Henry of Marietta, Ga., where he was residing at the time of his death; husband of Debbie Woodring Greenstein; brother of Cheri Greenstein of Jamestown and Nancy Gabor Binnerts (Paul) of New York City and Amsterdam Holland; grandfather of Zachary, Colin and Spencer Greenstein of Olean, Kalia and Karsen Henry and Lucas and Patric Henry of Georgia; son-in-law of Margaret Nalbone of Hudson, Fla.; brother-in-law of Richard (Cheryl) Woodring of Windham, N.H.; and uncle of Julia Gabor of Los Angeles and Ray (Anu) Woodring of Virginia.

Jerry moved to Erie, Pa., at age five and to Jamestown in 1960 when his father purchased the Beltone hearing aid franchise for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties.

Jerry entered Jamestown High School as a junior and graduated in the class of 1962. After a year at Jamestown Community College, he worked for his father at Beltone at the Hotel Jamestown location for over a year fitting his first hearing aid at age 18 then decided to go back to college to study speech pathology and audiology.

He enrolled in Emerson College in Boston, Mass., in 1964 and was a January 1968 graduate. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in May of 1968, which was the largest monthly draft in the history of the selective service. He served at Fort Sam Houston in the ear, nose, throat department and was assigned to Zama Hospital in Japan as an occupational therapy assistant taking care of the severely wounded soldiers from Vietnam.

Following discharge from the U.S., he worked at WCA Hospital in the speech and hearing department. In the summer of 1971, he was awarded a graduate assistantship at Ithaca College in audiology. In a year’s time, he received his degree as an audiologist. He served in this capacity for the next 46 years until he retired in 2017. His father, Morrie, had begun in 1950, at age 35, to work in New Bedford/Boston at Beltone in an exciting new profession offering a promising future in helping the hearing handicapped. Years later in 1976, Jerry took over the business when his father died. Over the years, there were additional offices in Dunkirk, Gowanda, Bradford, Warren, and Olean.

In 2015, Jerry was diagnosed with chronic lymphoma-leukemia, then went into remission for a year, but with the cancer returning the same month as his retirement. He spent the next two years in treatment, unwilling to give up.

Jerry and his beloved wife Debbie Woodring Greenstein were married Feb 8, 1986, and celebrated their 32 wedding anniversary in Atlanta, Ga.

While a resident of Jamestown, Jerry was involved in numerous civic organizations over the years including on the board of Family Services of Jamestown, past president of the Jamestown Lions Club and Temple Hesed Abraham Men’s Club, Lakewood Rod and Gun, War Vets, and Elks Club.

A great joy in Jerry’s life was traveling to Guatemala each year with the FAITH IN PRACTICE missionary group to fit hearing-impaired children in remote areas with their first hearing aid.

Family and friends will remember Jerry as being a lover of people, making conversation with everyone in the room and forming many acquaintances and long-lasting friendships. He spent many pleasurable hours at the Chautauqua Golf Course and made several golf buddies. Jerry enjoyed gathering friends together for fish dinners at the Eagles and spaghetti dinners at the Marco Polo Club and planning the Temple Hesed Abraham Kosher Open Golf Tournament each year. He also enjoyed playing cards and a continuous leisurely game of solitaire on his computer and his daily phone calls to his sisters. He had a big gentle heart and spirit to match.

Jerry will be honored with a celebration of life in Jamestown in the spring. The family kindly requests that any donations be made to St. Judes Children’s Hospital or to the Leukemia/ Lymphoma Society.