Richard Lucien “Dick” Berkman

Berkman, Richard Lucien (“Dick”) of Newton, passed away peacefully after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease on Friday, February 20, 2015, at age 69. For 47 years, Dick was the beloved husband of Patience Bennett Berkman. He was the devoted father of Rabbi Jethro Berkman and his wife, Rabbi Audrey Marcus Berkman, Julia Berkman, and Tobias Berkman and his fiancée, Anne Olinick; cherished grandfather of Gavriel, Amiel, and Edan Berkman; dear brother of Arnold Berkman and his wife, Claire Fleet Berkman;  devoted son of the late Marion and Henry Berkman, and fond cousin and uncle to many.

A memorial service will be held at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Avenue, Boston, on Monday, February 23, 2015 at 11:00 am. Interment will be at  Newton Cemetery, 791 Walnut Street, Newton. Following interment, memorial observance (shiva) will be at Patience Berkman’s residence:  24 Billings Park, Newton, until 6 pm. Additional memorial observance will be at two locations:  24 Billings Park on  February 24, from 9 – 11 am & 4 – 8 pm, and also on  February 25, from 7 – 9 pm; and at the home of Rabbis Jethro Berkman and Audrey Marcus Berkman, 183 Melrose Street, Newton, on  February 25,  from 7 – 9 am and  on February 26, from 4:30 – 7:30 pm.

Richard was a retired partner at Hale and Dorr in Boston (now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr) where he practiced law for 30 years, and a graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard Law School. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made in Dick’s name to Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org/donate) or Temple Israel (http://www.tisrael.org/Giving.asp).