Gerald "Jerry" Michael Greenfield, PhD

Service Details

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, JUNE 7, 2025 at the Wind Meadows Leisure Center (101 Bayfield Court Racine, WI 53402). 

 

Here is a link to a slideshow commemorating Jerry’s 80th birthday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkMGuwM0-4

 

Memorial Suggestions

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Gerald Michael Greenfield Memorial Scholarship in History – UW-Parkside Foundation P.O. Box 2000, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000 (262-595-2404) development@uwp.edu

Gerald (Jerry) Michael Greenfield passed away on December 27, 2024, at 81 years of age, nearly nine years after being diagnosed with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Jerry lived most of his adult life in Racine, Wisconsin.

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 1943, the first-born son and third child of Dr. Stanley Greenfield and Mrs. Selma Woolfson Greenfield.

After the end of World War II, Jerry’s family including sisters Dena and Miriam returned to Brooklyn, New York and eventually welcomed their younger brother, Bruce, into the family.

Jerry graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, New York, in 1959 at the age of 16 and started college at the State University of New York in Buffalo, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in history. He taught public school in Brooklyn from 1967 to 1969 prior to earning his Master of Arts degree in 1969 in history and Spanish from Brooklyn College. Soon after he married Carol Greenlinger and they moved to Bloomington, Indiana. In 1974 he earned his PhD in Latin American history from Indiana University and developed fluency in the Portuguese and Spanish languages. While doing research for his dissertation in Sao Paulo, Brazil, his son Faron Sanford was born, earning Faron permanent Brazilian citizenship.

In 1974 Jerry was hired at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside to teach United States and Latin American history and pursue research in his field of specialization. He spent the entirety of his career in numerous capacities at UW-Parkside: Professor of History, Director of International Studies, Chair of the History Department, Program Director, and Teaching/Learning Center Director, finishing his career in the senior administration as Vice-Provost and Interim Provost, before retiring in 2011.

Jerry published numerous books and articles and presented research papers at many conferences in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. A former public school teacher, he was very proud of establishing a Model Organization of American States simulation that brought area high school students to the campus, where they partnered with college students and assumed the roles of Latin American diplomats and political officials. A highlight of his career was earning UW-Parkside’s coveted Stella Gray Teaching Excellence Award.

In 2015 Jerry was selected for an Endowed Chair Visiting Professor position at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, where he taught a seminar on Latin American history. While there, he was especially thrilled to give a presentation in Spanish and English to United States and Latin American soldiers training at nearby Fort Benning (2021 renamed Fort Moore) U.S. Army Base, participate in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the 1965 march for civil rights and voting rights in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, and to meet President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn in Plaines, Georgia.

He married Susan Smith, the love of his life, in 1981 and they were married for more than 43 years. Jerry gained a daughter Stephanie and son David through the marriage. Within six months the family of five travelled to Recife, Brazil where they lived while Jerry completed a Fulbright Scholarship.

In addition to his academic achievements, Jerry was an exceptional chef, earning first place in the “Men Who Cook” competition, a fundraiser for disadvantaged youth, for his “Brazilian Coconut Shrimp”. An avid athlete, he successfully completed numerous Racine 10k Lighthouse Runs, regularly windsurfed and kayaked Lake Michigan, and power-lifted at various gyms in Racine. A longtime political activist and Democrat, he served as chairman of the Racine County Democratic Party and along with his wife Susan was named Democrat of the Year. He will be remembered as a loving and doting grandfather.

Jerry is survived by his wife Susan Greenfield, son Faron (Emily) Greenfield of Chicago, Illinois; stepson David Bolewski of Wind Point; Wisconsin; stepdaughter Stephanie Bennett of Fox Point, Wisconsin; and grandchildren Abby Bennett, Liv Greenfield; Sullivan Bennett; and Sophia Greenfield. He is also survived by his sisters Miriam Cohen and Dena (Carl) Farber; and his brother Bruce Greenfield., along with many beloved nieces, nephews, friends and colleagues. He was preceded in death by his father Stanley, mother Selma and many other loved ones.

The family extends its heartfelt appreciation for the compassionate and professional care provided to Jerry by the nursing staff at Shorelight Memory Care, Ascension Living, Lakeshore at Siena, and by the Aurora Hospice staff. We will never forget your kindness and thoughtfulness.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, JUNE 7, 2025 at the Wind Meadows Leisure Center (101 Bayfield Court Racine, WI 53402). Jerry would never want to force anyone to travel to the Midwest in the winter. Here is a link to a slideshow commemorating Jerry’s 80th birthday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkMGuwM0-4

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Gerald Michael Greenfield Memorial Scholarship in History – UW-Parkside Foundation P.O. Box 2000, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000 (262-595-2404) development@uwp.edu