Martin J. Oppenheimer, son of Judge Reuben and Selma Levy Oppenheimer, gently passed away in Dedham, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 26, 2020, after many years of living with Alzheimer’s. Survived by his soulmate and wife Helene; their children Alan (Priscilla), William (Amy Barad), and Elizabeth (Jeanne Burns); and his devoted sister Joan O. Weiss (Stan).
To the family and friends who loved him, Martin is remembered as a true gentleman, never letting on if he didn’t remember you, deferring to the needs of others when they were made known to him, always making an effort to shake hands or rise when being introduced to anyone new, even while in long term care. Martin is also cherished and remembered for his incisive sense of humor and consistent moral compass.
Martin was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Martin was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1948 Martin graduated from Haverford College, a small institution near Philadelphia and originally grounded in Quaker values--values that his mother Selma and uncle Lester lived out in the family's Judaism. Haverford suited Martin’s contemplative temperament, and he remained close to a group of classmates who revered him over their many years of friendship. Martin received his law degree from Harvard Law School, which from which his own father had graduated, and again stayed close to a few classmates. That’s the kind of friends he had and the kind of friend that Martin was.
Martin was a career attorney, getting his start with his father’s law firm in Baltimore, and focusing on tax law while working at the IRS’ Chief Counsel’s Office, Interpretative Division, in Washington, D.C. After seven years, Martin joined a law firm in New York City to continue his tax law practice, finally striking out on his own in the 1970s. He finished his career in New York at a small trusts and estates firm, Morris and McVeigh. Martin and Helene lived in Summit, New Jersey and Manhattan, before moving to the Boston area in 2011.
Martin was always reading something, usually tax law or investment-related material: ValueLine, Barrons, the Wall Street Journal. He also was a member of American Association of Individual Investors, participated in their meetings, read their investment letters, and acted on their advice. He carried around a copy of the Economist or a few pages of the New York Times up until the very final weeks of his life. For his personal enjoyment, he loved reading Shakespeare and anything written by or about Winston Churchill.
Martin rebuked showmanship and cringed at accolades and praise directed his way. We remember him as a charitable man throughout his life.
The family requests no flowers. Memorial donations can be made to Hebrew Senior Life’s H.E.L.P Fund and Haverford College.
To view Martin's funeral service please access the following link:
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