Howard C. Blatt

Howard Blatt of Concord, Massachusetts died on Tuesday, May 7 at the age of 88. He was born on June 7, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, the only and much-loved child of Rose and Joseph Blatt.

He received degrees from City College of New York and MIT in electrical engineering, and worked for MIT (Lincoln Laboratory, in Lexington) until he suffered a stroke in 1983.

He and his wife Judy raised their family in Sudbury, where they lived for 53 years. Howard was a loving, gentle, kind and creative person, with a wry sense of humor, and he was fiercely devoted to his family. A true Renaissance man, he enjoyed studying languages, built a darkroom, landscaped the family yard, designed five additions to the family home in Sudbury, and then created built-in cabinets. He was a wonderful cook, and took up trumpet playing as an adult. Despite the aphasia and partial paralysis from his stroke, he continued to enjoy cooking, traveling, photography, writing, and spending time with friends and family. After his stroke he drove across the country several times on his own in a specially adapted car, snapping photos as he went. He and his wife Judy helped to found the Aphasia Community Group of Boston.

In addition to Judy, his wife of 64 years, he is survived by his daughter Julia Blatt and son-in-law Ken Siskind, his daughter Emily Blatt, and grandchildren Eli Siskind and wife Bessie Steinberg, and Dana Siskind.

Family and friends are invited to attend a service at 10:30am on Thursday, May 9 at Congregation Beth El, 105 Hudson Road, Sudbury.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his honor to The Aphasia Resource Center at Boston University.