David Jon Greenwood

MILLBROOK — David Jon Greenwood passed away Dec. 23, 2024 at home in Millbrook New York. He was born July 9, 1944 in Putnam County, New York, and grew up in Carmel, the youngest of three boys. On his father’s side, he was a descendant of Thomas Greenwood, who emigrated from England in 1665. He and his fiancée Nan returned to the ancestral home of the Greenwoods in Heptonstall, Yorkshire in 1974 to be married there, and returned several times, most recently this past summer with family to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

On his mother’s side, his ancestry was Native American, indigenous to the Mid-Hudson Valley. His grandmother’s mother was Wappinger, and he grew up hearing family recollections of the Wixon and Smalley families in Putnam County, including reminiscences of Native American traditions, hunting and trapping, long houses, relatives fighting in the Civil War, and the Blizzard of ‘88.

Mr. Greenwood pursued a lifelong interest in the visual and performing arts. His major field was art history with a specialization in American architecture and decorative arts. He earned his bachelor’s degree in art education at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, which included a semester abroad studying art history in Siena, Italy. His master’s degree and supervisory accreditation were earned at SUNY New Paltz, which in 1982 named him an outstanding alumnus.

Mr. Greenwood combined his love of history and his love of art by becoming a teacher of art and advanced placement art history, joining the Carmel Central School District in Putnam County in 1967. In 1974 he was named district supervisor of art with responsibility for the entire arts program K-12, a position he held until retiring from Carmel in 2004. He then taught Art History and Aesthetics part time for another seven years at the Millbrook School. He specialized in pen and ink renderings and his work is included in several collections and books.

He was an officer of the Putnam County Arts Council and assisted in the selection, mounting and judging of numerous shows and exhibits. In addition to work with the Putnam and Dutchess County Arts Councils, he served on an arts review panel for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Art in Public Places project.

Mr. Greenwood gave presentations throughout the region on a variety of topics, and was well known for his extensive work with local history, including re-enactments of important historic figures associated with the Abolitionist movement in the Hudson Valley.
David served on the boards of both Putnam and Dutchess counties’ landmarks preservation societies and for many years as an overseer of Old Sturbridge Village, a Massachusetts living history museum. He was the historian for the Village of Millbrook and Town of Washington and parish historian for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lithgow, and served on the Dutchess County Historical Society. He was also an ex officio member of the Millbrook Historical Society and until recently chaired the Town of Washington’s Conservation Advisory Commission. Among his proudest achievements were contributing to the Museum in the Streets public history project in Millbrook, and coordinating an annual historic calendar project for 28 years, celebrating the people, places and events throughout the community’s history. It was in recognition of the calendar project that in 2022 the Association for Public Historians of New York State and the New York State Museum awarded him the Edmund J. Winslow Local Government Historian Award of Excellence.

David was also an active member of Millbrook Rotary and he and Nan served for 15 years as Inbound co-chairs on the Youth Exchange Committee for the 8-county Rotary District 7210 where they were responsible for selecting, placing and overseeing the experiences of international students who spent an academic year attending local high schools and living with local families.

Attending Rotary conventions took them around the world to Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, as well as the US, Canada and Mexico.

In Millbrook the Greenwoods lived in one of the oldest houses in the village, built originally by Philip Hart circa 1800. There David was surrounded by the antiques, art, books, and historic maps and memorabilia that meant so much to him.

In May 2024 at the Millbrook Historical Society’s monthly meeting, he was honored by the society and by the Village of Millbrook and Town of Washington for his decades of service as local historian, and was presented with a plaque and a proclamation that May 16, 2024 was designated David Greenwood Day in the Town of Washington.

David was predeceased by his parents and brothers. He is survived by his wife Nan and sons Calder and Wixon (Sibyl) and grandson Augustus, nephews Shawn and Harold and niece Lisle.

David was a staunch believer in supporting the local community; accordingly, gifts in his memory would be appreciated at the Millbrook Historical Society, Millbrook Community Partnership, Dutchess Land Conservancy, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook Rotary Foundation, ShelterBox or a charity of your choosing.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a future date.