Howard Martin Weinberg, educator, activist
Howard Martin Weinberg (Howie) passed away Friday, April 19, 2019, at the age of 73.
Howie was born Oct. 28, 1945, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Harry and Helen (Miller) Weinberg. His parents had a flower shop there. Howie was the delivery boy in his teens and college years.
Howard is survived by his wife of 45 years, Betsy; daughter, the Rev. Tamara Gohean (Clair); sister-in-law Dr. Marcy Weinberg; nephews Joel, Jonathan and Roger Stahl (Diane); niece Julia Stahl; cousin Becky Drago (Sal); and a host of friends and former colleagues whom he dearly loved.
Howard was predeceased by his parents and his brother Michael, to whom he donated a kidney that gave Michael 20 additional years of life and gave Howard great joy.
Howie was a very active and athletic child. He spent time at the Jewish Community Center, with his Charles Street friends, and as a Boy Scout, attaining the level of Eagle Scout.
Upon graduating from Wilkes University in 1969 with a degree in business education, Howie started teaching in the Interboro School District in Delaware County, Pa. He quickly became the president and chief negotiator of the Interboro Education Association, leading them through a successful two-day strike. During his 10 years at Interboro he became chair of the Business Department.
Summers, Howie worked in the Catskill Mountains at the Brickman Resort as a youth counselor and as part of a comedy diving trio, performing crazy and breathtaking diving routines. Pushing his physical limits and living dangerously made him happy to be alive.
His transition into union work was a natural. Howard cared enormously about people, justice and making their working lives better. He worked for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Delaware State Education Association and the National Education Association. He finished his career as DSEA executive director and retired after 33 years in January 2013.
A year after retiring, Howard was diagnosed with dementia. Howard lived at home until mid-May of 2018 when he became too impaired to continue there. He became a resident at Sterling Care at Harbor Pointe in Salisbury, Md., for the final months of his life. The amazing staff at Sterling Care took loving care of him, and Coastal Hospice provided wonderful additional caregiving. The family cannot praise and thank the medical and professional staff enough and the wonderful friends who entertained him with love, music and laughter throughout his final months. The family would like to thank the many friends who supported them from afar.
Howard lived the values of an Eagle Scout, a teacher and an advocate for justice for all people. Please think of Howard whenever you hear a bad pun, see a cowboy movie, witness an act of kindness and when you flinch at injustice, wherever it occurs, do something about it!
It was Howard’s wish that he be remembered not with sorrow and ceremony but with happy hearts. Details of a memorial reception will be announced in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to honor Howard’s memory with a charitable contribution may do so to the Delaware ACLU, the Delaware Food Bank, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Coastal Hospice and the Howard Weinberg Scholarship Fund at DSEA that benefits future educators.
Visit www.boundsfuneralhome.com to send letters of condolence.
