Alan Greenberg
- Published: July 2, 2026
Alan Greenberg took his last breath on May 27, 2026, at the young age of 74. A diagnosis of a rare form of pancreatic cancer in early January allowed him five months to prepare for the transition into the Great Mystery. He met it with openness, courage, pragmatism and gratitude. His final journey was supported by the love and care of his partner of 55 years, Dennie Eagleson; the sensitive care of Ohio’s Hospice; and a circle of friends and family who came together to celebrate and honor a fruitful and singular life.
Alan was born in 1952 in The Bronx, New York, to Harry and Sylvia Greenberg, with his grandmother, Hashka, and older brother, Robbie Greenberg, welcoming him into the world. He grew up next to the schoolyard, playing stickball and honing his skills at basketball. He spent hot summer days as a young teenager learning to sing to Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.
Alan was accelerated through middle school, graduating in 1969 from DeWitt Clinton High school. An older friend recommended the unlikely choice of applying to Antioch College, a small, liberal arts school in Ohio with a work-study program. Alan arrived in the summer of 1969, ready to dive into a wildly experimental First Year program. He learned to thrive, but held close to his working-class roots and an unwillingness to incur a lot of student debt, graduating with a degree in education in three-and-a-half years. Many substantive and sustained friendships were formed there, including meeting Dennie, his life partner for 55 years.
Alan discovered the focus of his life’s work when he was introduced to a friend’s Shaker chair in their apartment in New York. He dedicated himself to learning how to turn, shape and assemble Shaker rockers, working in a milking barn in Wisconsin, a spring house and a garage in Ohio, and finally establishing in Yellow Springs his own shop and business, which he called Generations Woodworking. There he produced elegant Shaker-inspired rocking chairs, tables and cabinets. He learned from books, from fellow woodworkers, and from an indefatigable sense of purpose and determination to achieve mastery in his craft. In 1985, he joined Bushworks, Inc., in Yellow Springs, and began a 35-year career working with the team to create beautifully crafted kitchens, cabinetry and custom furniture. His sensitivity of design, respect for the integrity of the materials and close attention to detail were deeply appreciated by his clients. The relationships he established with his fellow workers were essential to his sense of pride and accomplishment.
Alan retired from Bushworks in 2015. He continued making projects with wood, in his own slow and careful way, but his energy turned to clearing and stewarding a six-and-a-half-acre piece of land just outside of Yellow Springs. This land became his sanctuary in his final years.
He had a lifetime of being a walker in the woods accompanied by a legacy of great dog companions. Alan was a careful listener and student of jazz, along with many other genres of music. He was a thoughtful and passionate curator of the soundtrack of his shared life. He was a creative and inspired problem solver (and problem anticipator), a loyal and honest friend, and a loving and dedicated partner to Dennie. He will be so deeply missed. He said, of his anticipated departure, “I was a student of life. I get to graduate early.”
Alan was interred in the Glen Forest Natural Burial site on May 30, with a send-off that included music, poetry, words of appreciation, a laying on of hands and the sound of birdsong and crickets. May he soar into his next stage of existence buoyed by the love of his friends and family. Donations in his memory can be made to any animal shelter or the Glen Helen Association.
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