Orthopedic surgeon Thomas Jeffrey Green, M.D., passed away on March 2, 2023, at the age of 82.
Green will be remembered for his dedication to others as an orthopedic surgeon, a chief of surgery at the UPMC hospital in central Pennsylvania, and as a U.S. Navy veteran.
Green earned his medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in 1966, where he was a member of Kappa Beta Phi and Nu Sigma Nu fraternities.
Dr. Green’s Naval service coincided with the Vietnam War. He was stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Sicily during the Vietnam War and among the ways he distinguished himself was for taking action to contain an outbreak of infectious hepatitis at a local, Sicilian grade school (the Sigonella Grade School).
That willingness to step forward and address urgent medical problems was evident throughout his career.
After military service, Dr. Green opened an orthopedic practice in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which is in the Cumberland Valley, just west of Harrisburg in Central Pennsylvania.
Dr. Green served patients in and around the Cumberland Valley for almost 40 years (1975- 2014).
Dr. Green was also on staff at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Carlisle and served as chair of the surgery department, the hospital executive committee, and the Carlisle Hospital Medical Care Foundation Board of Directors for several terms.
“He fixed so many broken bones and painful joints, his grandson once called him ‘the Mayor of Carlisle’ for running into people who knew him everywhere they went,” his family wrote.
He always had a passion for sports and the musical arts. While at Jefferson, he helped start the Jefferson Rugby Football Club. Even after a knee injury ended his sports career, Green kept his passion for sports alive by singing his favorite rugby songs with friends and cheering for his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Green was born on October 30, 1940, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Alfred V. and Maletha Claar Green. He graduated from Lilly-Washington High School in Lilly, Pennsylvania and then earned his bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and the Gettysburg Choir.
He enjoyed competing horses in different equestrian events. His favorite was foxhunting with the Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club in south central Pennsylvania. He also spent time as the field secretary for the club.
Green is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Carol Green of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; his son Jeffrey Todd Green of Holiday, Florida; his daughter Donne Renee Green of Winchester, Virginia, and his daughter Debora Liana Green of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
He is also survived by his sister Carolyn Greenfield and five grandchildren: William Grant Tennille V., Megann Renee Knapp, Erika Li Green, Kyle Heather Knapp, and Elizabeth Li Green.
