Margaret Ann Carney Green
– Margaret Ann Carney Green, 77, passed away on January 6, 2024 in Hampton, VA after a long battle with MS, surrounded by those who loved her.
Margaret was born September 27, 1946 to the late Thomas and Leonora (Clark) Carney in Phoenix, Arizona. In her youth, Margaret attended and graduated from St. Mary’s High School (‘64) and went on to receive nursing degrees from St. Joseph’s (‘67) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Science in Nursing from ASU (‘71). After graduating, she relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Harold Green, where they raised their children, Melissa and Robin. After working as a nurse for over a decade, she went back to school and earned an MBA in executive business administration from Golden Gate University (‘84). Throughout her extensive medical career, she worked as Chief Operating Officer and interim C.E.O multiple times at several hospitals, serving for over 25 years at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, CA. Many of her colleagues described her as “the best boss they ever had.” As a dedicated and loving leader, Margaret was proud of the work she did serving her patients and her staff as a hospital administrator for over 30 years.
Family vacations from the Bay Area to Fort Bragg, CA led to her eventually calling it her home in 2000. Margaret was most at home in the garden: in her own beautiful yard, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, and volunteering at the Desert Botanical Gardens after she retired with her partner, Michael Cunnigham, in Arizona. She spent many a day lost in the beauty of nature, with her hands in the soil. She loved to hike and explore the natural world around her, whether that was in the deserts of her birthplace, the Alps of Switzerland, or the forests and ocean of her home in Fort Bragg, California. When not outside, she loved spending time in the kitchen, crafting delicious meals for her family, baking, and canning. When you arrived at Margaret’s house, she would always have a cup of coffee or a glass of red wine for you, and a listening ear or an interesting conversation about the world. You knew you could always count on her for support and advice. It was a quality admired by all who knew her.
Margaret was devoted to her family, instilling in her daughters a passion for life, a love for adventure, and open mindedness to the world. Her keen intellect always pushed her to see and know more about the world. She took frequent trips to explore the world around her. After dropping her husband off at the airport, she braved traveling through Europe with her pre-teens, staying along the way at youth hostels instead of fancy hotels. She sucked up her fear and rappelled 200 ft into the earth and then went spelunking with her teenage daughters just to try something new. As she got older, she never gave up the adventurous spirit. She traveled across the country with her partner Micky in an RV, drove the Alcan highway with Robin in a hatchback (camping the entire way and being devoured by enormous mosquitos), scaled the Mayan pyramids, and climbed the never ending stairs into the crown of the Statue of Liberty with Melissa. Despite the sometimes precarious situations she found herself in, she always maintained a calm and collected demeanor.
Margaret is survived by her two daughters, Melissa Green and Robin Green, and her three grandchildren: Kieran Mason; Quinn McCreary; and Willow McCreary. As the second oldest of “the Mighty Eleven,” she is also survived by her seven remaining sisters: Diane Nieuwsma; Mary Cormier; Paulette Nicholson; Dorothy Smith; Eileen Newman; Leanne Donnelly; Terri Matteson; as well as two son-in-laws and countless nieces and nephews. Margaret was preceded in death by her loving partner Michael “Micky” Cunningham.
A memorial service will be held March 30th in Phoenix, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, Margaret would want donations made to either the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or the Desert Botanical Gardens.