Norman Abelson

Around him always, he once wrote, “were friends and associates who allowed me to experiment, risk, change, and grow. Around me also were children, grandchildren, and friends who enriched my years with affection, patience, humor, and lessons on how better and more meaningful to make life's journey better and more meaningful.”

From his parents and their parents he was also given enduring gifts: an understanding that empathy and compassion were necessary and important ingredients to living a humane and meaningful existence; a respect for the sagacity of those who had already lived a longer life than his; a responsibility to be involved in community, to help those in need, and to speak for those who could not speak for themselves; and also, a talent for joy and fun.

His time was not unmarked by tragedy. Daughter Laurie Beth lived just nine months. Son Michael Laurence was in a fatal and tragic accident in his early forties. Wife Dina, already scarred by her nightmare at Auschwitz, suffered for years from the horrors of Parkinson’s disease before her death after 47 years of their marriage.

Abelson’s public life was hardly a continuous climb up a ladder to a stated goal; he never had - or wanted - one. He said, even in his final years, “Goal-oriented is life-restrained. My life has been more like a series of one-act plays. I still don’t know what I want to be or become.” There were, however, two constants in his life: a desire and need for change and challenge, and writing. “Writing was a gift given to me without training or intent,” he said. “Yet without it, I have no idea what might have become of me.”

Whether composing a poem or a political tract, a speech or a sermon, the words - and the love of them - never deserted him. In his variety of jobs and volunteer activities, writing was nearly always the principal vehicle to any satisfaction or success. His work and public service were wide-ranging. He served eight years in the U. S. Navy Ready Reserve (1950-58). He began his journalism career at The Associated Press, first in Boston and then for more than a decade in the AP’s Concord, N.H., office as a reporter and editor with emphasis on government and politics. He later served in Washington as press secretary to U.S. Sen. Thomas J. McIntyre (D-NH).

He went on to positions in national public service and policy, including with the National Association of Home Builders; the Office of Economic Opportunity (War on Poverty), working on programs such as Head Start, Job Corps and Community Action; and the U.S. Small Business Administration, where he handled sensitive issues and specialized in programs offering small business opportunities to low-income and minority people. He served as the agency’s direct liaison with the White House before returning to New Hampshire after the election of Richard Nixon in 1968.

Abelson also worked in political campaigns during and after his Washington years, contributing writing and operational support across presidential, Senate, gubernatorial, Congressional, and mayoral races, including the 1964 campaign of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the 1972 campaign of Sen. Edmund Muskie (D-ME).

Back in New Hampshire, he directed New Hampshire Tomorrow (1970), an environmental project that included early ecological programs and involvement in developing the first Earth Day. He later founded Abelson Associates, offering counsel to small businesses and dedicating major efforts to public relations, health care issues, and community organizing training for low-income people.

After “retirement,” he returned to journalistic and creative writing: Op Ed pieces and feature stories for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor and other newspapers; commentary on National Public Radio in Boston and New Hampshire; and writing on the Holocaust. He hosted two Community TV shows, one on politics and one on the arts. He authored three books: “Right Place, Right Time,” “Snapshots From A Love Affair,” and “Dina’s Final Journey,” and contributed frequently to “Connections,” an online newsletter for current and former journalists.

He taught as an adjunct instructor at New England College and later originated and taught courses in memoir, storytelling, and creative writing at the Lifelong Learning Institutes at

Brandeis University and the University of Southern Maine. He also taught writing at historical societies, libraries, and elementary schools in New Hampshire and Maine.

His avocations included jazz singing, painting (some 200 pieces, with public showings), and flying instruction in single-engine planes and gliders.

In New Hampshire, he devoted himself to volunteer leadership and service, including Friendly Kitchen; Salvation Army; Greater Concord Interfaith Council; Temple Beth Jacob; the N.H. Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition; Uniting Against Hatred; the N.H. Humanities Council; the N.H. Arts Council; the N.H. Governor’s Advisory Commission on Government Reorganization; the N.H. Association for the Elderly; the Anti-Defamation League, and founding McKenna House for the homeless.

Among other honors, Abelson received three signing pens from President Johnson for assistance with legislation and a Silver Medal for work on sensitive issues at the Small Business Administration. His volume of poetry, “Snapshots From A Love Affair,” was named best romantic book of the year. A collection of his books, writing, and associated material was established as

“The Abelson Papers” at The Associated Press Archives in New York City.

Norman Abelson was born on March 16, 1931, in Malden, Massachusetts, to Harry Arnold and Sophia Abelson. He spent his final years in Moody, Maine, living with his beloved life partner, Magdalene, in a cottage at the edge of the Rachel Carson Nature Preserve, a short walk to the ocean.

Survived by: his life partner, Magdalene Came of York, Maine; his son and daughter-in-law, David and Meg of Litchfield, New Hampshire; and three grandchildren, Natasha of New York City, Michael of Litchfield, N.H., and Sarah of New York state. Predeceased by: his wife, Dina; his daughter, Laurie Beth; his brother, Stephen Lewis; and his son, Michael Laurence

A funeral service will be held at Temple Beth Jacob, located at 67 Broadway, Concord, NH, 03301, on February 6, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Following the funeral service, a graveside service will take place at Blossom Hill Cemetery, 207 N State St, Concord, NH, 03301, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to a homeless shelter of your choice or to the Salvation Army.