Heather Greenspan

Heather Gold Greenspan, age 81, of Ocean City, MD, passed away on April 18, 2024. Born in the Bronx, NY to the late Mersh and Doris Gold (nee Fisher).
Heather was the beloved wife of the late Michael A. Greenspan; loving mother of Lisa Greenspan Griffith (David) and the late David Greenspan; proud grandmother of Kendall Griffith, Matthew Griffith, and Ryan Griffith; and dear sister of the late Robert Gold (Larry Hooker). She is also survived by her cousins, Nancy Marcus (Roseanne Macari), Stephanie Beck (Stephen), and Robyn Robinson.
Heather grew up in the Bronx where she became a lifelong Yankees fan before moving to White Plains, New York during her teenage years.
She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in education. She returned to New York after college and taught 5th grade in the White Plains public school system. It was at the Empire State Building where she met her future husband, Michael Greenspan.
They were married in 1964. While Michael was serving as a captain in the U.S. Army, Heather experienced the peripatetic life of an Army wife. She set up their household first at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It was at McDonald Army Hospital at this latter base where she gave birth to their first child, Lisa.
After leaving Army, Michael and Heather moved to Montgomery County – first renting an apartment in College Gardens. With the arrival of David in 1968 they moved to a townhouse down the street. In 1972 they bought their home in Flower Valley where she lived for the next 40 years. It was while living in Flower Valley with neighbors who became her dearest, life-long friends that they raised their children and families together.
In the 1970s, she worked at the Montgomery County Detention Center teaching inmates and helping them attain their GEDs. Later, she worked at Ceil’s, a fashionable women’s boutique in Potomac. Heather enjoyed volunteering and raising money for charity. She first joined CARIH (Children’s Asthma and Research Institute Hospital) based in Denver, Colorado ---which later became National Jewish Health—raising money for children with asthma and asthma-related illnesses. Later, she volunteered for years to raise funds for the Brandeis National Committee. After losing Michael to progressive supranuclear palsy, she worked with Brandeis to begin raising money for neurodegenerative brain diseases – an effort called “Sustaining the Mind.”
Heather was an avid sports fan and active participant. Sundays in the fall were spent with friends cheering on the Hogs and Redskins. When the Nationals moved to Washington, she naturally adopted them as her hometown team, as did her daughter, and followed them devotedly for the rest of her life. Heather enjoyed playing tennis during the summer on the courts in Flower Valley and in the winter at the Aspen Hill bubble. Tuesdays were dedicated to Mah Jong with a core group of friends who played together for years.
Heather loved the sun, the sand, and the ocean. Annual summer family vacations were spent in Ocean City, Maryland and in 1994 her dream came true when she and Michael purchased their condo in the Jamaican Sun. It was here where she enjoyed the cherished company of her extended beach family. The group came to be known as the “Silver Village” for the ubiquity of their silver-colored umbrellas.” Over the years, the group expanded to include almost a dozen grandchildren,
and some of Heather’s fondest memories were of watching the children play together and seeing them all grow up as a group.
But the role Heather was most proud of was grandmother. She was thrilled to spend time with the kids at the beach and took great pride in her grandchildren’s achievements. During the school year, she attended many events and extracurricular activities and volunteered in the classroom. She was also a vocal presence at the full schedule of her grandchildren’s athletic contests. It was at these games that she endeared herself to a new generation of parents for her thoughtfulness, but also for her outspoken and unfiltered opinions about the play on the field, the quality of the coaching, and every call made by the officials.
The family kindly requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the BNC Sustaining The Mind Campaign here. In the area that says to Select a Designation, you will need to type in the words , "BNC Sustaining The Mind Endowment Fund".