Larry Lowenthal

Larry Lowenthal slipped away from life quietly at home in Brimfield on March 12, 2020, after an illness.  He was born March 1, 1940 in New York City, where he fondly remembered riding the subways, playing stickball in the streets and exploring Van Cortland Park.  A move to the countryside of northern New Jersey as a youth introduced him to his lifelong passions – nature and history. Those two things were at the core of almost everything he did.

Larry graduated from Rutgers University and Yale University, earning a Master’s Degree in History and becoming a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  His professional life as an historian was wide-ranging.   He worked for the National Park Service as a historian for 30 years, after which he continued in the same capacity as a consultant for the NPS, primarily for the Eastern regional planning office.  This work allowed Larry to use his talents of research, writing and presentation to help develop or improve many National Parks and Monuments in the region, such as the Boston Harbor Islands, Cape Cod National Seashore / Truro Light, Governor’s Island in New York Harbor, the Tenement Museum, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt, and the creation of the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor.  

In his retirement years Larry also enjoyed consulting on many local historical projects as well as working on projects of his own (he always had projects!)  He was patient and a good listener, careful to be sure he understood before passing judgement or giving advice, generous with his time helping others, and a mentor to young people.  He often seemed physically tireless, working on house or garden, and hiking great distances in the woods looking for signs of previous (and current) occupiers, old foundations, railroad trestles and the plants and animals that fill the forests of New England.  The land spoke to him, its flora and fauna and its ancient geology too, and the stars overhead were old valued friends.  He was endlessly curious about the world and the humans who inhabit it.

If there was an organization he cared about, Larry supported it enthusiastically.  The Last Green Valley, Opacum Land Trust, Sturbridge Historical Society, Hitchcock Academy, the Yiddish Book Center, and many railroad and transportation organizations all were dear to his heart.  He adored classical music, particularly of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and he attended concerts frequently at Tanglewood, Springfield Symphony and Bard College Conservatory Orchestra.   Larry often marveled at the ability of his favorite composers to create an experience that, to him, felt spiritual.

His love of music led to him to travel to attend the celebration of Jean Sibelius’s 150 birth anniversary in Finland in 2015, a week filled with wonderful music by his favorite composer.  In retirement, he also enjoyed travel to Ireland, France, Sweden, Nova Scotia and other international destinations.

Larry loved language.  It was a family joke that he never chose a single-syllable word when a multi-syllable one was available.  He loved word-play, and quirky jokes that surfaced when we least expected them and never forgot.  He read insatiably, primarily history both ancient to modern, but he could also be persuaded to read fiction, if it meant he could have a good discussion about it.  Larry had a prodigious memory, so that he was able to recall and discuss often obscure names, dates and details from things he had read.  Night table reading might be a book on the Holocaust, or World War I, or perhaps philosophy or religion, never anything remotely light. He wrote over 18 published books, in addition to many equal-length historical studies for the Park Service, always striving to present ideas in the most engaging and accessible way.  Some books about his local area included Titanic Railroad, Trying to Do My Duty, and most recently, A Yankee Regiment in Confederate Louisiana.

Besides his books, Larry produced a great deal of thoughtful unpublished poetry he shared with family and friends.  The ending of one poem sums up how we recall him: “And here is the victorious sun, Bursting through the doorways of our memory, and spreading its warm rays of redemption into every crevice of remorse.”

Larry is survived by his wife of 50 years, Koren (Kitty); his son Isaac (and partner Yasmin) of Boston; daughter Eleanor (and partner Caleb) of Woodstock, Vermont; goddaughter Andrea Caluori of Ashfield MA; and brother Roy Lowenthal of Virginia Beach VA.

Burial was in New Jersey, with a memorial gathering to be held in the summer in Brimfield.  Date will be announced later.  In lieu of flowers, donations in Larry’s name to Hitchcock Academy, The Last Green Valley https://thelastgreenvalley.org/ or Opacum Land Trust https://www.opacumlt.org/ would be most welcome.

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