Lucia Greene, Former Owner of Wick & Greene Jewelers, Dies at 90

She was a compassionate and generous person whose “sweet and feisty spirit will forever be a part of everyone who knew her.”

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Asheville, N.C.—Lucia Greene, who owned and operated Wick & Greene Jewelers (now Spicer Greene) for decades with her husband, died April 18.

She was 90 years old.

Lucia GreeneGreene, the only child of the late Burder and Mildred Brown, was born on June 4, 1929 as Margaret “Lucia” Brown.

She spent her childhood in North Asheville, North Carolina, and eventually moved to West Asheville.

She attended school in the Asheville City School system, graduating from Lee Edwards High School, and was a lifelong member of Calvary Baptist Church.

Greene married the love of her life, the late jeweler Paul Greene, in 1948. The two were married for 63 years before his passing in 2011.

She was a hard worker her whole life, according to an online obituary.

Greene worked as an operator at the Southern Bell telephone company, a bookkeeper and personal assistant at Matthews Ford, and, once her children were in school, alongside her husband at Wick and Greene Jewelers.

Together, the two grew the business into one of the premier jewelers in the country.

It became Spicer Greene Jewelers in 2016 and is now helmed by the fourth generation, their granddaughter Eva-Michelle Spicer and her husband, Elliott.

Greene’s family said she was a loving and dedicated wife as well, and a devoted mother to her children, Michael Greene (wife, Eva) and Paula (Greene) Webb (husband, Steve).

She was “especially proud” of her three grandchildren—Christopher Webb and wife, Jennifer; Paul Webb and wife, Jessica; and Eva-Michelle and Elliott—and loved visits from her great-grandson, Caleb Webb.

Greene’s family was her greatest pride and joy, and it extended in her later years to include the caregivers and her three closest friends at the Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community.

She was an ardent animal lover and philanthropist, supporting several causes benefitting her church, local animal agencies and her city.

Together with Paul and their son Michael, they were the pioneers who led the revitalization of downtown Asheville in the 1980s.

Greene taught everyone compassion, humility, generosity, perseverance and love, the obituary said, adding, “She will be missed, but her sweet and feisty spirit will forever be a part of everyone who knew her.”

Due to the current pandemic, the family will hold an intimate graveside service, with a celebration of Greene’s life to take place at a later date.

A charitable endowment has been established in Paul and Lucia Greene’s name to help young entrepreneurs.

Banner will be right here …

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Paul and Lucia Greene Charitable Endowment at the Community Foundation of WNC at 4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Asheville, NC 28803.

Donations also may be made to Calvary Baptist Church at 531 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806; Memory Care at 100 Far Horizons Lane, Asheville NC 28803; or to the Asheville Humane Society at 14 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville, NC 28806.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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