Mourning the Loss of Stewart Greenebaum

December 13, 2017

With great sadness, we wish to inform you of the passing of Stewart Greenebaum, a longtime benefactor of the University of Maryland Medical System and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, especially the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center that bears his name.

Mr. Greenebaum, a well-known real estate developer and civic leader who, with his wife, Marlene, was very active in the community, died Sunday night, December 10, 2017 after a long illness.

Funeral services were held on Wednesday, December 13, at Temple Oheb Shalom, 7310 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, MD 21208.

The Greenebaums have been very generous supporters of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) for many years. In 1995, they made a $10 million gift to UMMS and UMSOM then the largest private contribution ever made to either institution. In recognition of their gift, the cancer center was named in their honor. For the Greenebaums, the gift also had a very personal meaning it was given to celebrate Marlene’s successful treatment and recovery from breast cancer.

Mr. Greenebaum called the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center “my true life’s work,” and predicted that it will “still be changing lives … long after the buildings I have built have been forgotten.”

Kevin J. Cullen, MD, the cancer center director, says that Mr. Greenebaum taught him an important lesson about the “true power of philanthropy.”

“Stewart wanted to change the world and make it better. His success in the business world gave him the lever he needed,” Dr. Cullen says. “Stewart understood that philanthropy is much more than simply donating money. It is about vision and passion and engagement. It is about encouraging and celebrating excellence. It is about compassion.”

Both Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum, and their son, Michael Greenebaum, now president of Greenebaum Enterprises, Inc., have served on the Board of Advisors of the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. In the 1990s, Mr. Greenebaum was chairman of the Board of Directors of UMMS. He was an Emeritus member of the Board of Advisors of UMSOM and past chairman of the Board of Advisors of the UM Institute of Human Virology, where the Greenebaums created an annual Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series.

The Greenebaums have also funded numerous endowed professorships at the School of Medicine, including the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Distinguished Professorship of Oncology, held by Dr. Cullen, the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Professorship in Radiation Oncology and the Stewart J. Greenebaum Professorship in Stroke Neurology, which was created after Mr. Greenebaum suffered a devastating stroke in 2011.

Through his philanthropy, Stewart Greenebaum had a tremendous impact on our ability to provide state-of the-art care for our patients and conduct innovative research. His support of the cancer center has been unwavering, and over the years, it has grown into one of the most highly regarded cancer centers in the country. He will be remembered for his leadership, vision, wit and compassion. He will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, whom we consider to be part of ours.