Janet Green 1991

REMEMBERING JANET GREEN

by

Nancy Miller

Her friend Colonel Timothy Johnson put it best when he said in his remarks at her funeral "Janet was a great lady--she had common sense, discipline, a fine mind, and a thirst for knowledge. She had ZEST for living, and when you were with her You felt it."

Janet was a member of the Washington Map Society, serving as Vice Presi­dent (1983-84) and President (1984-85). Her tenure in these offices coincided with the initial growth of the Society's membership and rapid expansion of its activities. Janet was instrumental in initiating the Society's newsletter/ journal, The Portolan, which began appearing in the fall of 1984, with the late Dr. Jonathan Lanman serving as editor. She encouraged the Society to host the first International Map Collectors Society Symposium to be held in the Western Hemisphere, "Mapping America," which was such a success last fall. She made the necessary contacts with her British friends, hosted a dinner for the IMCOS officers, worked on the planning committee, and helped with myriad details. Over the years, she generously arranged for Society meetings and dinners to be held at several of the clubs in which she held membership, including memorable events at the Army-Navy Country Club and the Fort McNair Officers Club.

Janet collected many types of antiques - silver, books, ceramics, maps, and globes. Her map, atlas and globe collection has been bequeathed to the United States Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, and her refer­ence book collection to the George Mason University in Virginia.

By profession, Janet was a free-lance writer and journalist who special­ized in articles for antiquarian magazines and journals in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. An excellent photographer, she often illustrated her articles with her own photographs.

She will be best remembered as an active participant in a wide range of clubs, societies and foundations, and the diverse nature of the groups reflected the breadth of her interests. Professional and social memberships included the Washington Press Club, American Newswomen's Club, the Washington Club, the Army-Navy Town Club, and the Army-Navy Country Club in Virginia. Politically a staunch Republican, she was a longstanding member of the Arling­ton Republican Women's Club.

On January 22, 1991, Janet was admitted to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washing­ton, DC, where she underwent open-heart surgery for valve replacement. Four days later, she was removed from intensive care, but she died sudden­ly on January 28, while still in the hospital. She was buried on February 5, 1991, at Arlington Memorial Cemetery, following funeral services at the Old Fort Myer Chapel.  Janet was the widow of retired Colonel George Green, U.S. Air Force Flight Surgeon.

(This remembrance appeared in Issue 21 (Spring 1991) of The Portolan.)