Martin Ian Green

Martin Ian Green, a retired book producer and entrepreneur, died of natural causes on March 9, in Concord, MA. He was 86. Martin, the son of the late Benjamin and Anne Green, grew up on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City. He was born in 1938, the same year Superman first appeared, a twinned birth that Martin, a lifelong lover of superheroes, would often note with delight. His cherished memories of a childhood spent in the bustling Jewish neighborhood during wartime informed the vivid stories he would tell for a lifetime thereafter.

Martin graduated from Hofstra University with a B.A. in Psychology and briefly attended graduate school at George Washington University to pursue a degree in hospital administration before deciding to wander pathways of his own unique design. While still in New York City, he started a food distribution business, then worked for a stint on Wall Street before launching a modeling agency, through which he met his future wife, Mary Sipp, a student in fashion design at FIT at the time. After their marriage, the couple founded Xanadu boutique in New York’s Greenwich Village, then moved upstate to Cherry Plain, NY for the birth of their son, Jared.

Martin and Mary next started Bumpkins clothing company to market nostalgic country designs and eventually left the fashion industry altogether to open up an award-winning artisanal toy shop, Ask Your Father, in 1972 in Pittsfield, MA. After moving to Stockbridge, MA, Martin’s next venture was his first foray into publishing: the best-selling handbook for childhood emergencies, A Sigh of Relief (1977), which earned international praise and translation into numerous languages. He followed up this success with two well-regarded medical handbooks for cats and dogs in 1980 and one for families, Lifesavers (1981). During this time, he founded Berkshire Studio, an independent book production company that would go on to produce the acclaimed graphic novel Voodoo Child: The Legend of Jimi Hendrix (1995) and the children’s novella, Santa, My Life and Times (1998), both illustrated by comics legend Bill Sienkiewicz, as well as the novel Been Here and Gone: A Memoir of the Blues, penned by David Dalton (2000). Martin retired from the publishing business in the early 2000s and eventually relocated to Concord, MA to live near his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters, who knew him as Miggy.

Martin is survived by his sister, Adele Puhn, his former wife Mary, and their son Jared and his family. Martin will be remembered by all who were touched by him as a true force of nature, a wild spirit, and a born storyteller. We will forever carry the sound of his voice within our memories and the timbre of his laughter within our hearts.

Services will be private

Donations may be made in his name to the Rachel Frances Ragone, GABELLI ’18, Endowed Scholarship, which honors the memory of his grandniece: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1362/18/interior-wide.aspx?sid=1362&gid=1&pgid=603&bledit=1&dids=378.260&sort=1&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2EisYjQJXjF74n-aQA6Avcm6jG9Ct6p-EODR0cZpX1rvQ_BQNjON9QZeQ_aem_4RngfjqDjzBtHswUGyWssQ

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA 01742  978-369-3388  www.concordfuneral.com