Lucille Reno Greenberg

Lucie was born in Wyandotte, Michigan, on August 20, 1944, the second of the late George and Beatrice (Penfold) Reno’s two daughters. With her older sister Marie, she spent her early years in the northern Detroit suburb of Berkley. Although he was a skilled & successful machinist, George wanted the freedom to own his own business and, while Lucie was still a teenager he moved the family to small town Yale Michigan to begin a new chapter as a farmer. There she attended and graduated from Yale High School. 

Perhaps because of her time in the more urban setting Lucie knew that rural life was not her calling. One visit to the beautiful Michigan State campus in Lansing was enough to convince her that her path ran through the arts, literature, education, boys and, of course, Rock and Roll.

At MSU she majored in English and planned to take advantage of the loan forgiveness programs the federal government then offered to entice teachers to take up jobs in underserved urban schools. This she did, but not before meeting and marrying Mike Davis, in the first of her two marriages. With Mike she had one daughter, Tiffany Davis and moved to Saginaw Michigan where she began a long and inspired teaching career, starting at Weber Junior High. Lucie was that rare educator who loved and was loved by middle schools students while upholding rigorous academic standards & successfully teaching Shakespeare to inner city youth. Later she performed similar miracles at Saginaw’s Arthur Hill High school. It was not lost on her students that she was also a successful track coach and a fine sprinter in her own right.

After Mike and Lucie parted ways, she was able to arrange a sabbatical at the University of Michigan to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Literature (Poetry). There she met and bedazzled the man who would become her second husband. Jeff Greenberg, himself a recent Master of Science (Physics) graduate from UofM fell in love with Lucie nearly at first sight and they married in 1988.

After completing her MFA at UM Lucie moved full time to Ann Arbor. At UofM, she had added experience teaching undergraduates to her resume but she loved teaching students of all ages. She continued as high school teacher in Howell, Michigan, and later as a Middle School teacher again in the Ann Arbor school system. In between she was active as a supervisor of student teachers at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti and as a teacher of adult learners at Washtenaw Community College and again in nearby Willow Run.

Lucie was a life-long learner and while taking graduate classes in Drama at MSU in 1998 she was rewarded with an opportunity to spend a month studying Shakespeare in London. As she enjoyed travel and loved Shakespeare, this was to remain one of her fondest memories. But her happiest destination outside of her beloved Michigan was France. She loved Paris and its surrounds and traveled there as often as possible. She enjoyed trips with her husband as well as showing Paris and then the French Riveria to her daughter Tiffany.

Following her retirement from Northville Schools in 2006 Lucie finally had time to fully pursue her love for gardening. With an artistic eye and a green thumb she took charge of the landscape design of her various homes in Ann Arbor. Those who visited knew that the beauty of her homes was inseparable from the love she and Jeff shared for the pets that were always roaming in and out of the house. Lucie loved her cats but it was impossible to think of her without thinking of her dogs and especially her majestic black standard poodle Luke.

Although ‘retired’ from teaching Lucie frequently found herself tutoring anyone who was in need or asked for help. This included children of friends who just needed a bit of individualized instruction as well as immigrants she met who needed help adding English to their native Spanish, Vietnamese or Korean. A strict grammarian in an age where grammar was out of fashion among some educators, the students she tutored were delighted to find a teacher who could help them understand the structural differences between their native languages and English.

In her later years, Lucie was an active member of the Ann Arbor City Club, where she enjoyed lively games of bridge and mahjong with friends. She was known for her strong and thoughtful Liberal political voice, her quick wit, and her impeccable sense of style. A proud Michigander, she rarely missed a chance to remind her husband of how beautiful Charlevoix and northern Michigan were compared to the drab landscapes of his native Ohio. He did not argue and they spent many lovely vacations in Charlevoix, Sutton’s Bay, Traverse City, Old Mission Point and Petoskey.

Though she was not a regular church goer, Lucie occasionally found comfort in attending Mass at St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor with friends.

Lucie is survived by her husband, Jeffry Greenberg; daughter, Tiffany Davis; sister, Marie Firman; niece, Donna; nephews, George and Russell; former husband, Mike (Chris) Davis; and sister-in-law, Val (Ramo) Salerno.

A celebration of Lucie’s life will be held at the Ann Arbor City Club on Sunday, May 3, 2026, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made in Lucie’s honor to Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries by visiting drmm.org.

Muehlig Funeral Chapel is honored to serve Lucie’s family. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting www.MuehligAnnArbor.com.