John Robert Greenstreet, a native Tulsan, passed away Sunday March 1, 2015. He was bom on July 1,1929 at Momingside Hospital (now Hillcrest) to John Coleman and Wilma A. (Smerdon) Greenstreet. John and his older sister Doris grew up on a small farm at 56th and Lewis. It was here that John developed a keen imagination and a passion for the natural world and being outdoors. He spent his youth writing short stories, drawing and painting, and fishing in Joe Creek. Throughout his life he enjoyed the sport of fishing, which led to many memorable trips. John graduated from Will Rogers High School in 1947, where he was a member of the tennis team and Treasurer of his senior class. He went on to play tennis at New Mexico Military Institute his freshman year of college before transferring to Southern Methodist University.
At SMU he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity as well as Phi Beta Kappa. While at SMU John met Mildred Alexander, and they were married (in Perkins Chapel on the SMU campus) in 1952. His first job after college was with Procter & Gamble at a factory in Dallas. During that time he attended SMU night law school. Upon completion of that degree P & G transferred him to its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked for six years.
He then decided to return to Tulsa and worked in the Trust Department of First National Bank for several years and later worked for MAPCO, from which he retired in 1993. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church and its Friendship- Wesley Class, and helped to found the church's Scholarship program. During retirement he enjoyed traveling with his wife, playing golf, and spending time with his grandchildren.
John was preceded in death by his sister Doris Greenstreet Niemann, who passed away in 2008. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mildred, and son Robert (Bonnie) Greenstreet, daughter Lisa (Tom) Weatherholt, and son John C. (Doris) Greenstreet, and six grandchildren: Alexis, John Morgan, and James Greenstreet, and Ellen, Laura, and Daniel Weatherholt.
A Memorial Service will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 13, at Fleming Center at Methodist Manor, 4134 East 31st Street.
www.moorefuneral.com