Susan J. Greenberg

Susan J. Greenberg passed away on Saturday, October 14, 2023, at the age of 83, at the Gilbert Residence, Ypsilanti, MI. Born in Columbus Ohio on January 7, 1940 to John Jiga and Eileen Dwyer, Susan grew up in Dearborn, MI and then Milan, MI. Her father was a chemist at Ford and had been studying to be a lawyer; his death in a car accident when Susan was 12 had a long-lasting effect on her.

Susan graduated in 1957 from Lincoln Consolidated Schools and was proud to be one of the only women from her high school at that time to attend college. At the age of 17, she enrolled at the University of Michigan in Fall 1957, and lived for a time in Stockwell Hall, then an all-women’s dorm, where she had said that cars, wine, and boys were not allowed; Susan had all three.

Susan completed a BA in education, with a specialty in teaching science. She then worked as a lab assistant in the lab of UofM biochemist G. Robert Greenberg. After living briefly in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and working in a lab in Berkeley, she returned to Ann Arbor and married G. Robert Greenberg on December 18, 1965. He was 21 years her senior but that did not deter them. Susan and Robert were married for almost 39 years until his death in 2005.

Susan’s foray into politics began quite early, most likely while she was a student. In the mid 1970s, Susan became involved with the local Democratic Party, serving on the Ann Arbor City Council for the First Ward from 1978 until April 1982. Following a sabbatical year in Vancouver, Canada, Susan ran unsuccessfully in November 1984 for County Clerk/Register of Deeds of Washtenaw County. For many years, she served as the Chair of the Democratic Party and as the Precinct Delegate for the Democratic Party of Ann Arbor. Friend and fellow council person Larry Hunter always referred to her as the “Mother of the Democratic Party.” An active member of the League of Women Voters, Susan made sure to register young voters at Ann Arbor’s Community High and elsewhere.

In the late 1980s, Susan studied for an MA degree in public policy at Eastern Michigan University and was just short of completing it when life got in the way. In 1989, Susan helped to establish the Washtenaw Affordable Housing, a non-profit organization that purchased condemned houses, fixed them up, and then rented them to low-income families. In the 1990s, she served as chair and board member of this organization. She continued her work in finding housing solutions as chair of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, and as a founding member, chairperson, and board member of the Housing Bureau for Seniors and as a board member of the Michigan Housing Trust Fund. She also served as a volunteer at Alpha House, a shelter for homeless families that was run by the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), a coalition of churches and Temple Beth Emeth, of which Susan had been a member. In 2002, the Housing Bureau for Seniors honored Susan with the Wilma T. Donahue Award and was also recognized by the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. In 2011, Susan was honored by IHN for her contribution to Alpha House.

In her later years, Susan also served as a board member of the Washtenaw County Library; on the social action committee of Temple Beth Emeth, and as a tax aide for seniors through the Housing Bureau for Seniors. Susan ceased her community work around 2014, when she began having memory problems.

Susan was very proud of her Romanian heritage through her father and of being descended from early Americans on her mother’s side. Susan was a world traveler, having traveled with her daughter to Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, England, Israel, Spain, France, and Italy. In 2004, Susan traveled to Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece and then in 2007 to Argentina with Temple Beth Emeth Kol Ha Lev Choir

(although she did not sing). In 2008, she also went to Istanbul and again to Bulgaria. In 2010, she joined the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice tour to Israel and Palestine.

Susan is survived by her daughter Ela Greenberg of Jerusalem, Israel, her son Marc Efraim Greenberg of Oakland, CA and their spouses; granddaughters Dahlia Bigelow and Einav and Alma Greenberg Cohen. She is also survived by her stepchildren James Greenberg, Paula Greenberg Marshall, Bettie Greenberg, and Alice Greenberg Vorbach, their spouses, and their children, Henry and Erika Greenberg, Clayton and Wesley Marshall, and Shea and David Vorbach.

Susan also leaves behind her cousins from the Jiga family and many friends. We would like to thank the staff of Gilbert Residence, Brookdale Memory Care, and Atria for caring for Susan since 2016. We are also grateful to friend Yvonne Cudney who helped to make decisions about her care and drive her to many medical appointments.

A funeral service for Susan will be held Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Temple Beth Emeth, 2309 Packard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Burial will follow the service at 11:30 AM at Arborcrest Memorial Park, 2521 Glazier Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. The family will be sitting shiva at 1534 Hatcher Crescent, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 on the same day, Thursday, from 4 to 8 pm.

Donations in Susan’s memory can be made to: Alpha House, Ann Arbor, https://www.alphahouse-ihn.org/donations Housing Bureau for Seniors, University of Michigan, https://www.uofmhealth.org/hbs/make-gift-housing-bureau-seniors Ann Arbor Democratic Party, https://secure.actblue.com/donate/annarbordems Temple Beth Emeth, Ann Arbor https://www.templebethemeth.org/make-a-donation