The passing of Coach Greene took my breath away.
       Coach Greene always stressed excellence and hard work. He was a teacher with a strong foundation in fundamentals. As someone has said " he was ahead of his time". On our first day of practice, we worked on dribbling, passing, rebounding, and seemed forever with the pick and roll. He knew the importance of this skill and being able to use your left hand. ( Right if you were left handed)
He knew how to get the best out of all of us. I was always impressed by his genius of simplicity. He focused on us knowing what to do with the ball and without the ball. The remembrance's of Nantucket, the pick and roll, the natural way he taught us, and having fun, will always stay deep within me. To this day, I know players were grateful for his approach to the game and life. Coach Greene loved all his players. Coach Greene was a Huge impact in my life as a person and coach. I was blessed to have him in my life.  

Thank you for all you did for us

Tom Meucci   

I am so sorry for your loss.  I am a currently a  probation officer with Court Support Services Division in Connecticut.  I met Jim Greene over 30 years ago when I worked as an intern in Judicial  and worked at the Alternative in the Community with Community Partners in Action. Prior to Probation I worked as a bail commissioner /IAR specialist.   I was so impressed on all of his presentations(trainings).  He engaged and motivated  individuals to become a better version of themselves and to take this lesson in life and to have an impact others .   His knowledge and commitment to the agency, and to the clients was superb. He truly was an inspiration to me and to many others.  He played a huge role which led to my interest in adult probation.  Earlier in my career , I was afraid of public presentations. However I borrowed some of his skills which helped me engage my audience and  overcome my fears of public speaking. He truly impacted my life. 


I was attending Central Connecticut State University and heard there was a great criminal justice class , but it was only held in Waterbury. I decided I would make it work and found Mr. Greene leading the class. He changed my life. His views of the criminal justice system and how it could address the needs of the people in it, profoundly connected with me. His random facts about the Redsoxs mixed in with revolutionary views on how to address re-entry, made the long drive worth it.  He changed my academic path and I will be forever grateful for his intellect and kind guidance.  Even after the class ended, Mr. Greene would respond to my calls. After graduating from CCSU, I was hired by Project Green in Bridgeport, CT and worked as a Community Service Coordinator for several years. It was the program named after Mr. Greene and I wanted to be part of it. It was one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had and I was able to have regular contact with Mr. Greene during that time.  His memory will live on through my continued work in the criminal justice field. My condolences to his family.  I will never forget him. 


We were all fortunate to play for a gentleman that was ahead of his time when it came to the game of basketball. As someone who played for one of his Newington travel teams in the early 1970’s  he gave us the skill set and ability to move forward and be successful at the next level. There is a generation of men that can attribute their  success in life to Coach Greene.   Our best goes out to the family. Ted Fravel NHS 1978 & Family 

Sent from my iPhone

Jim Greene was a great coach and a better guy. I will never forget him.....see the man see the ball...learn so much from him...just one of kind.....RIP Coach!!!!!... Eddy Callahan....Newington,Ct.





We are so sorry to hear the passing of Coach Greene.  We like many others learned the fundamentals of playing basketball from him in middle school.  He set the foundation for many of the future High School basketball stars at Newington High School during the late 70’s and early 80’s.   He became a family friend to many of the players and their parents during those years and we enjoyed playing for him immensely.  He was a unique individual who we had a tremendous amount of respect for not only on the court but off.   Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of grief.   The Meucci Family

Its been many years since I last saw Jim, but he lived in my memory and made weekly appearances. Days of slo-pitch softball at Foxies, Running the Newington Slo-Pitch Tourney alone with him for 2 weekends, his permanent referee for his  Newington travel basketball team, the zinc oxide on his nose, in a crowd of 1000 you could hear his voice (never remember him getting ejected from a game however),  the continual $3 losses to him on Rockledge Golf course when he always set the bet easy enough for me that I fell for it every time, and our game at the prison when we had 7 guys and they 25 and Jon must have scored 80 points and we still lost.
Rest in peace old friend. I will never forget you.

So sorry to hear of Coach Greene’s passing. I played on his travel basketball team as an 8th grader in Newington, CT.  I will always remember our team trip to Nantucket to play in a tourney. I can still see him sitting at the counter of a small restaurant eating a huge bowl of clam chowder, with half the soup in his beard!  Great Coach, even a better man. RIP Coach. 

To sweet Maryanne and kids!!
I am thinking of you and the crazy times Jim provided to all of us. He was something!!!  I am so grateful he got to spend his last years with some family.  He certainly added a lot of zest and spice to our lives. But in good or bad, I know he truly loved his family in his own Jim Greene way. We will always cherish our fun memories we made in Tariffville.  I truly believe we will all meet up with him in heaven one day and he will tell us another good story. Love to all!!! Cindy

OBITUARY

James William Greene

February 23, 1944 – January 14, 2021

Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist-North Chapel and Hamilton Memorial Gardens

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Updates

Services