Donald C. Weitzman

February 19, 1942 - December 16, 2025

Don Weitzman of Brookline, MA, died at home following a diagnosis of ALS in the early fall of the same year. He was 83 years old. The son of the late Mary (Cohen) Weitzman and Jacob Daniel Weitzman, and younger brother of the late David Weitzman, Don was born in 1942 and grew up in Washington, D.C. While his family was decidedly not religious, it was culturally Jewish, which for them meant strong ties to progressive politics and working for social justice. Don’s parents were active in the civil rights movement and opened the Dupont Theater, the first racially integrated movie theater in Washington, D.C., in 1948. When Hollywood denied the Dupont Theater access to popular films, it became an arthouse theater.

As a child in Washington, Don and his family attended regular Sunday brunches at the home of his maternal grandparents, Lillian and Meyer Cohen. His immediate family spent summers in Gloucester, MA, where they owned a fishing boat. When Don was midway through high school, the family moved to New York City so his mother, who had returned to school in her 30s, could continue her education. She would go on to earn a Ph.D. and become an endocrinology researcher.

Don attended Carleton College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1963. He then earned a master’s degree in education at New York University and began his primary vocation as a math teacher. His first job was teaching fifth grade outside of White Plains, NY, followed by three years teaching math at the Bank Street School in New York City. Don then worked as a math consultant, providing workshops to teachers, first at the Olivetti Corporation and then independently. He especially enjoyed teaching with math manipulatives—blocks, boards, and other items that can be used to demonstrate mathematical concepts—as well as making math less scary for those who were intimidated by the subject. In the mid-1970s, he opened a toy store, Try & Buy, in Pleasantville, NY. Originally intended to be a teaching supply store, the business shifted to focus on educational toys. Don moved to the Boston area in the late 1970s, selling the store to one of its employees.

In Massachusetts, Don spent time living in Somerville and Cambridge. Starting in the 1980s, he taught calculus and linear algebra at Harvard Extension School. He also taught a math refresher course for incoming master's students at the Kennedy School of Government. Don remained passionate about mathematics throughout his life, even after retiring from teaching in the 1990s. He continued to read math books, was always happy to bring out pattern blocks or other manipulatives, and was known to draw figures in the sand to demonstrate mathematical concepts to friends on summertime beach trips.

Don maintained his progressive politics throughout his life. As a young adult, he was especially active in the anti-nuclear movement. In the late 1970s, he was a member of the Clamshell Alliance, opposing the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire. He took part in multiple demonstrations and was arrested several times for acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. Getting arrested for climbing the fence in a protest at Seabrook would remain a point of pride throughout Don’s life.

In 1981, Don met Harriet Goldberg. The two were married in 1985 and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in the summer of 2025. Their daughter, Lily, was born in 1988. Don was a devoted husband to Harriet and a loving father to Lily.

In 1990, the family moved from Cambridge to Brookline, where Don got involved with local politics. He became a Town Meeting member, a role he would continue to hold for approximately 20 years. He also served on Brookline’s Advisory Committee, as well as on the boards of the Brookline Greenspace Alliance, Brookline Neighborhood Alliance, and Brookline PAX. He ran for the Brookline Select Board in 1997 and served a three-year term. Don was especially passionate about climate work and was a co-founder of Climate Action Brookline (CAB) in 2000. In 2008, he and fellow members of CAB worked to establish the Select Board Climate Action Committee through a Town Meeting warrant article. After the article passed, Don would serve as co-chair on the committee.

Don had both a loving family and a warm network of friends that grew out of his progressive politics, connections with neighbors, and summertime vacations on Martha’s Vineyard. He loved doing crossword puzzles and sudoku, as well as watching movies, TV series, and sports. He will be remembered for his kindness and generosity, his intellect and curiosity, his sharp wit and sense of humor, and above all as a mensch. Don is survived by his wife, Harriet, his daughter, Lily, and a broad extended family.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the Brookline Food Pantry, https://brooklinefoodpantry.org/donate/, Greater Boston Food Bank, https://my.gbfb.org/give/739140/?utm_source=26HFHDIG&utm_medium=search&utm_content=26DIG&utm_campaign=google&c_src=26HFHDIG&c_src2=SEM-GOOGLE-!/donation/checkout&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23183944063&gbraid=0AAAABB2izcGN2Dl_vpL2SBrU8cP6hFYIX&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9t3KBhCQARIsAJOcR7yAYIwfdcpBrgQJgD6_MhGLG1UNwsucS3y96EIj1xra4aPgtQXQ0WUaAqjvEALw_wcB#!/donation/checkout, or an environmental or social justice organization of your choice.