1943
Michael
2016
Michael S. Halpern
December 25, 1943 — December 1, 2016
West Newton - Dr. Michael S. Halpern, of West Newton, died on Thursday, December 1, 2016, in Newton-Wellesley Hospital. He was 72.
Mike was born in Boston on December 25, 1943, a son of the late Irving and Jennie (Cohen) Halpern. He was raised and educated in Brookline and earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in Cambridge and later his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
On a trip to New York City in 1965 he met upstate-New York-native Barbara J. Heumann while at a bus stop in the Bronx; she suggested a dinner date (a friend of Mike's had warned him about forward New York City women), and the couple was married on August 28, 1966 in the chapel on the campus of MIT. The pair lived in California for a short time while Mike attended Berkeley and then settled in Philadelphia. Before his retirement he worked as a scientist in the field of immunology at The Wistar Intitute.
Retirement afforded Mike and Barbara the opportunity to move to the Boston area, which Mike had always yearned to return to. He was a smart and kind man, who loved classical music, a good game of chess, studying French, and especially, as many of his friends could attest, a spirited debate about politics. Mike also enjoyed travelling, especially throughout France and England, where he could indulge his unabashed Anglophilia.
Besides his beloved wife of fifty years, Barbara J. (Heumann) Halpern, he is survived by his daughter, Faye S. Halpern and her husband, Jeremy Fantl, of Calgary, Alberta and his grandchildren, Toby and Norah Fantl.
Funeral services are private. However, we would love to hear any stories and memories you want to share about Mike. We have set up a website memorial at www.never-gone.com/Memorials/mikehalpern. (You will need to create a free account.)
Memorial donations in Mike's name may be made to The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, PO Box 105, Glenolden, PA 19036 ( www.cmtausa.org ) or to The American Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad St., 18th Floor, New York, New York, 10004 ( www.aclu.org ).
Mike was born in Boston on December 25, 1943, a son of the late Irving and Jennie (Cohen) Halpern. He was raised and educated in Brookline and earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in Cambridge and later his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
On a trip to New York City in 1965 he met upstate-New York-native Barbara J. Heumann while at a bus stop in the Bronx; she suggested a dinner date (a friend of Mike's had warned him about forward New York City women), and the couple was married on August 28, 1966 in the chapel on the campus of MIT. The pair lived in California for a short time while Mike attended Berkeley and then settled in Philadelphia. Before his retirement he worked as a scientist in the field of immunology at The Wistar Intitute.
Retirement afforded Mike and Barbara the opportunity to move to the Boston area, which Mike had always yearned to return to. He was a smart and kind man, who loved classical music, a good game of chess, studying French, and especially, as many of his friends could attest, a spirited debate about politics. Mike also enjoyed travelling, especially throughout France and England, where he could indulge his unabashed Anglophilia.
Besides his beloved wife of fifty years, Barbara J. (Heumann) Halpern, he is survived by his daughter, Faye S. Halpern and her husband, Jeremy Fantl, of Calgary, Alberta and his grandchildren, Toby and Norah Fantl.
Funeral services are private. However, we would love to hear any stories and memories you want to share about Mike. We have set up a website memorial at www.never-gone.com/Memorials/mikehalpern. (You will need to create a free account.)
Memorial donations in Mike's name may be made to The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, PO Box 105, Glenolden, PA 19036 ( www.cmtausa.org ) or to The American Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad St., 18th Floor, New York, New York, 10004 ( www.aclu.org ).
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael S. Halpern, please visit our flower store.
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