Michael Forman
Michael Harvey Forman of Grantham, NH passed away peacefully at home at age 57 on January 19, 2010 after a long and courageous battle against scleroderma. Michael, known to many as “Mick”, was born in New York City on Dec. 11, 1952, the son of Leon and Muriel Forman, both deceased. He grew up in Flushing, Queens and spent most of his adult life in Brooklyn, NY. He and his family moved to the Upper Valley in 1999 and have made New Hampshire their home since then.
Michael spent most of his working life as a journalist, primarily for several small financial publications. Soon after moving to the Upper Valley, he attended the MALS program at Dartmouth and received his MALS degree in Creative Writing in 2003. His experience at Dartmouth was a profoundly transformative time for him. His earlier educational experiences were quite difficult, having grown up with learning disabilities in an era when they were misunderstood. In midlife he learned to overcome these challenges allowing his innate intelligence to flourish. He made many friends at Dartmouth, among both fellow students and faculty, and deeply cherished these relationships.
After graduating from Dartmouth he began a Second Act as a teacher of writing, philosophy and history at both the Community College of Vermont and Keene State College. He was a gifted and compassionate teacher who inspired many of his students to push themselves beyond their expectations and discover new potential. He considered his short career as a teacher the most rewarding and important work of his life.
In addition to being a teacher, he was a voracious learner and educated himself throughout his life about anything that caught his interest. He had a lifelong passion for music and was a talented slide guitar player. He was a black belt in Aikido and when his illness prevented him from practicing, he began learning Tai Chi, and in his last year became a serious student of Tibetan Buddhism. This brought him much peace during the difficult final phase of his illness.
In all his endeavors, humor was the core of his personality and his family was the center of his life. His 32 year marriage to his wife Judi was one of deep love and friendship. He also enjoyed extraordinarily close relationships with his children, Hannah, 28, of Keene, NH and Noah, 24 of Brooklyn, NY. Another son, Robin, predeceased him in 1983. In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his sister Freda Hansburg of Berkely Heights, NJ. Mention must also be made of his 3 beloved dogs, Boswell, Chloe and Sophie who will greatly miss his deep love and affection for them.
A celebration of Michael’s life will take place on Sunday evening, January 24, 7 PM at the Faculty Club at the top of the Hopkins Center in Hanover. All are welcome. An online memorial has been set up to share your thoughts and memories at michaelformanmemorial.blogspot.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to OXFAM (www.oxfam.org) , his favorite charity.
Scleroderma is a rare autoimmune disorder that is not well understood and for which no effective treatment exists. However, research into this disease is very active and to help support that effort donations can also be made in Michael’s memory to the Scleroderma Research Foundation (http://www.srfcure.org/srf/home.htm).
