William Sprott Greene, Jr.'s Obituary Charlotte Observer Print Edition (Page 7, December 24 2025). He was my dear and wonderful father, and we miss him.

William (Bill) Sprott Greene Jr. died of natural causes on August 31, 2025, at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts, just shy of his 98th birthday. His beloved wife of 64 years, Ewanna (Becky) Castanas Greene, daughter Zoe Helene and son-in-law Chris Kilham were by his side. Bill truly wanted people to celebrate, rather than mourn, his life. He commented often on how extraordinarily lucky he had been.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, on October 29, 1927, and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bill was an accomplished painter and sculptor and a charismatic teacher.
He loved the arts and sciences, mathematics, classical science fiction, chess, good barbecue, and costume parties.

Bill’s parents, William Sprott and Malvena Alexander Greenberg (later changed to Greene due to rising antisemitism), were professional classical musicians who were instrumental in starting the Charlotte and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras. Bill played clarinet with them in chamber music ensembles at the Mint Museum and private venues in Charlotte.

At age 15, he enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the youngest person in most of his classes during a time when WWII veterans were returning home and going back to college. He was catcher on UNC-Chapel Hill’s championship softball team and varsity baseball team, a Boston Red Sox farm team.

Bill completed his bachelor of science in science and philosophy in 1951, and in 1957 was given a National Science Foundation Grant to earn his master’s degree in education in chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. During this period, he was a riding master in the Appalachian equestrian community, taught science and math, was one of the original “Music Men” (like the musical), and designed and built his first house, The Triangle House, in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

In 1960, Bill’s mother gave him a Charlotte Observer newspaper clipping showing a beautiful woman in front of an abstract expressionist painting and said, “This woman looks interesting, Billy.” The woman was Becky, who had recently returned home to Charlotte from New York City to help her family design the legendary Epicurean Restaurant. They decided to get married after three days.

Wedding Reception at the Epicurean Restaurant

William S. Greene Jr. (far left) and Ewanna "Becky" Castanas (2nd from left) Wedding Reception at the Epicurean Restaurant, 1961

Shortly after their wedding, the Stouffer Foundation gave Bill a grant for travel (for two) to thirty major universities around the world as part of his doctoral research. Together, Bill and Becky traveled to many countries, including Asia, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Cambridge, England. They spent six months in Aotearoa (New Zealand), where Bill studied physics at the University of Auckland, then philosophy of science at Cambridge University in England. In Southeast Asia, he helped start the India Institute of Technology (IIT), where he was made an Honorary Sikh.

Bill and Becky returned to Chapel Hill to complete his PhD, and there he met
John Ehle, who invited Bill to help create the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA), now called the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), along with Governor Terry Sanford and composer Victorio Giannini. Bill designed academic structure and philosophy for the school, which opened in Winston Salem in 1965; as founding faculty, he taught gifted performing artists science and math from 1965-1974. Albert Einstein’s quote, “All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree,” was displayed prominently in his laboratory. He played the magical Drosselmeyer in the school’s first performance of Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker,” which he considered a defining moment.

William S. Greene Jr. as Drosselmeyer

William S. Greene Jr. as the magical Drosselmeyer in UNCSA’s first performance of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, which he considered a defining moment.

Courtesy of the UNC School of the Arts Archives

In 1968, Bill and Becky designed and built their first house, Greentrek, in a forest by a lake; the home included a fully stocked nuclear bomb and fallout shelter. In 1972, the National Endowment for The Arts gave Bill a grant to be artist-in-residence at Penland School of Crafts. Then, in 1974, they moved to the North Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand), where they lived for just shy of fifty years. They designed and built The Totara House on a mountain between two rivers that led to the ocean; this home also included a nuclear bomb shelter. Bill and Becky made art, and owned and operated Gallery on One, offering fine ceramics, paintings, and wood sculpture. His work, inspired by biological evolution and Aotearoa’s native bush (rainforests), is in collections around the world. In the 80’s, Bill got a kick out of driving his burnt orange '77 Stingray from Waiwera to Auckland to a favorite gig as Master Scenic Artist at Television & Film New Zealand, with Head of Design Roy Good. He played Tevye in “Fiddler on The Roof” and would occasionally burst into song, “To life, to life, l'chaim!” During this period, Bill and Becky were active in Nuclear Free Pacific and met Māori indigenous rights activists Syd Jackson and Deirdre Nehua, who remained longtime friends. “I will forever remember Bill for his kindness, his intelligence, sharp wit, political astuteness,” Dierdre says.

Bill and Becky bought and renovated a batch (cottage) on a beach-front cliff overlooking the South Pacific. In 1995, they opened an investment business with rental properties, primarily in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, managed by his son, William S. Greene III. In the summer, they closed the galleries and traveled to many countries, including Russia, Greece, Austria, Egypt, Australia, and Tahiti. They summered in Ocean Park, Maine, at their son-in-law’s cottage for eight years, then bought a home with a long-range mountain view in Amherst, Massachusetts, where they summered until 2023.

In May 2023, Bill and Becky moved to the United States to be closer to their daughter and caregiver, Zoe, and in May 2025, they moved to Applewood Independent Living in Amherst.

Bill is survived by Becky, four children, three grandchildren, a younger sister, and many extended family members, friends, and students he held dear. Bill wanted people to remember him through creativity, curiosity—and dancing!

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Aotearoa rainforest conservation: Aotearoa rainforest conservation: NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust

Course Stresses Originality, Blends Ballet, Geometry, The Charlotte Observer, Monday, February 07, 1966 · Page 28

First NCSA performance of The Nutcracker. William S. Greene Jr. as Dr. Drosselmayer, Courtesy of the UNC School of the Arts Archives

Epicureans, By Rolfe Neill, The Charlotte Observer, Sunday, September 11, 1960 · Page 51

University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The Charlotte Observer, Monday, February 07, 1966 · Page 28

John Ehle Obituary, New York Times, April 04, 2018