Herbert Wasserman

Herb was born in 1928 in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Though his family struggled during the Great Depression, Herb felt lucky to grow up in a musical household where his father Maurice was a cantor and his mother Rebecca was a pianist who had accompanied silent films in London. Herb himself picked up guitar and continued to play his whole life, specializing in folk music.

Herb attended school at Cambridge Rindge and Latin and as a teenager worked the turnstiles at Fenway Park, a job that instilled in him a permanent devotion to the Red Sox. He received a bachelor’s degree from Boston University; a master’s from Columbia University’s School of Social Work; and a PHD in Social Work from Brandeis University’s Heller School. During the Korean War, he served as a social worker for the US army.

Herb made significant contributions to the mental health field in the Greater Boston Area. In addition to developing alcoholism treatment services for Tufts New England Medical Center, he became Director of Bay Cove Clinic, one of the city’s first methadone clinics, all while overseeing a private practice. After 25 years at Tufts, Herb accepted a position as Director of Addiction Services at Emerson Hospital in Lincoln. And later in his retirement, he worked for for the US government, treating returning soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Herb was an adventurous traveler his whole life. In his early 20s he hitchhiked across the United States to visit his sister in Oregon. He later moved for a year to Israel, working as Head of Psychiatric Social Service at a hospital in Tel Aviv. He also visited Cuba, Russia, Central Europe, and in his 80s, China.

Herb sustained a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. As a young man, Herb marched behind the Reverend Martin Luther King at Selma, Alabama. He also campaigned for Deval Patrick in his successful bid for the governorship and later for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. As a senior citizen, Herb could be found on the Lexington Battle Green where, in a tricorn hat, he regaled tourists with tales of Revolutionary War battles.

Herb involved himself in many hobbies. An avid tennis player, he built his own court on Cape Cod’s Lieutenant Island where he summered with his family and enjoyed clamming, swimming, and sailing. He also loved playing poker, telling jokes, and cheering on the Sox. Late in life he became a champion Bocce player at the retirement community where he lived.

Herb is survived by his daughter Amy Wasserman; son Mark Wasserman; son-in-law David Steeves; and grandchildren Annabelle and Benjamin Dietz.

Remembrances can be made in honor of Herb to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),www.aclu.org.