Greenberg taught French at Santa Rosa High for 25 years, retiring in 1984.
He continued in the classroom as a
substitute teacher until last September, always upholding his reputation
as a stern taskmaster.
"Herb was known as Monsieur Greenberg at Santa Rosa High School. He was
intense, demanding and effective,
reflecting what's good in education," said retired teacher and friend Lee
Torliatt, who taught with Greenberg at
Santa Rosa High. For many years Greenberg and Torliatt commuted together,
engaging in deep philosophical
discussions and flights of fancy.
"He had a wonderful sense of irony, mixed with a wonderful sense of idealism.
It made for interesting
conversations," said Torliatt.
Greenberg earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford
University. Before becoming an
educator, he served three years with the Department of State in Iceland.
During World War II, he served with the
Marines in the Pacific.
During his more than two decades at Santa Rosa High, Greenberg immersed
his students in French, not speaking a
word of English in the classroom. It befuddled students not willing to
follow the rigors of learning a difficult foreign
language.
"He was a very serious teacher and a hard grader. He was not popular with
some students but reached the serious
students who really wanted to learn French. Many of his students went on
to become French teachers themselves,"
said his wife.
After he retired from active teaching, Greenberg maintained a busy schedule
as a volunteer, substitute teacher and
avid long-distance cyclist. He also started a business called the Old Poster
Peddler, a mail-order company that
provided posters and other visual-aid materials to foreign language teachers
across the United States.
For many years, Greenberg volunteered as a third-grade tutor at Burbank
Elementary School, helping students who
struggled with math. In recent years, Greenberg used money he earned as
a substitute teacher to pay for buses so
that the school's low-income students could take field trips for cultural
and educational enrichment.
Greenberg also donated his time and organizational skills to Sonoma County's
Safe Kids Program, which sponsored
bicycle rodeos at schools throughout the county. The programs were aimed
at safe bicycling and getting kids to
wear helmets.
He was a member of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club and the Unitarian-Universalist
Congregation.
In addition to his wife Anne, Greenberg is survived by his sons, Mark Greenberg
of Santa Rosa, Steven Greenberg
of Berkeley and Allen Greenberg of Falls Church, Va.; his sister, Joan
Strauss of Phoenix, Ariz.; and by one
grandson.
Private family services were held. The family suggests memorial contributions
to the Santa Rosa High School
Foundation, P.O. Box 11002, Santa Rosa, 95406.
.