Allan Leitman

Allan Leitman, of Lakeville, MA, passed away on January 13, 2022, at the age of 89. Husband of Cornelia Voorhees, son of the late Morris Leitman and Esther Sobel, brother of David Sobel and the late Shirley Ubell, father of Julie and Liddy Leitman, father-in-law of Chan MacVeagh and Paul Knoepflmacher, grandfather (known as Bahpah) to Molly and Ella MacVeagh and Nora and Ivan Knoepflmacher and “Tuba,” uncle of Lori and Michael Ubell, dear friend to Eddie Wango, devoted caregiver and honorary son.

 Born in Flushing Queens, Allan grew up in Manhattan, NY and graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1950, and University of California, Los Angeles in 1954, with a major in political science. He received his Master’s in Education from City College, New York and his Ed. D. from Teachers College, Columbia University, with a dissertation on “Science for Deaf Children (1968).” 

Enjoying a meaningful career as an educator, Allan worked as a professor of Education at Stonehill College, and other colleges, including Wheelock, Bridgewater, Salem State and UMass Lowell, as the founder of the Advisory for Open Education, and director of Elementary Science Study. He began his career in education as a science teacher at Lexington School for the Deaf, and as science camp counselor at the University Settlement House camp in Beacon, NY. 

Allan was the consummate host, befriending nearly everyone in his orbit, human and animal alike. He enjoyed painting, especially portraits of his pets, beach-front fishing, chess, baking bread and bagels, making batches of hummus, writing reflections and poetry, reading historical biographies, gambling and growing plants, listening to Bach, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell, taking abundant photos of his family and friends, hosting breakfast parties with plates of matzoh brie, serving as a conduit to connect friends, admiring the natural world surrounding him in Lakeville while floating in his pond. 

Allan will be remembered by his many friends and family for his generosity of spirit, love of laughter, sharp wit (and overuse of puns), twinkling eyes, apple cheeks and an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus. 

Expressions of sympathy can be made in Allan’s honor to the MSPCA, https://www.mspca.org/donate-now/, or any other organizations that support animals or education.

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