Melvin Klayman

Mel Klayman, dedicated resident of the South End of Boston, passed away on June 27, 2025, at the age of 75, leaving behind him a wealth of happy experiences in his many walks of life. Born during a major summer heat wave in Malden on July 30, 1949, he was the son of Edward and Eva (Schlager) Klayman. He spent his early years in Malden attending its public schools and graduated from Malden High School with the Class of 1967. He enjoyed the camaraderie of many friends growing up in Malden and at the high school where he excelled in his studies. He went on to attend Northeastern University and graduated magna cum laude with a major in German, followed by graduate degrees in European history from Boston College and in library science from Simmons College.

A true Bostonian to the core, Mel lived in the Bay Village and the South End sections of the city for his entire adult life and truly loved the architecture, atmosphere and energy of these welcoming urban neighborhoods. He was an especially dedicated physical fitness buff throughout his life and was a well-known member of Mike’s Gym, the Boston Sports Club and the YMCA on Huntington Avenue. He thrived on these regular workouts, and they gave his life a sense of purpose and camaraderie, surpassed only by his intense interest in the turbulent world of state and national politics. From an early age Mel knew the value of work and held many jobs from the time he was a high school student. Especially nostalgic for him was his time as a summer intern stacking books at the BPL’s Central Library. He later played a pivotal role in the IT department where he established the library’s first digital collections database. He was super conscientious in all the tasks he undertook throughout his life and showed a wide range of capabilities in his years in Boston as a manager for the engineering consulting and testing firm of Stone & Webster on Deer Island and then as the Information Manager for the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAMM) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

Mel was immensely admired by so many of his friends and coworkers over the years. His retirement party at the state brought out hundreds of his coworkers who gathered to show him their genuine admiration for his professionalism and for the wide range of knowledge he commanded to assist them in their respective roles there. Most of all they loved him for his engaging, friendly personality and his ability to see the humor and comedy in all of the humanity that passed by him.

Apart from his stellar academic and work history, Mel was a lifelong patron of the arts. He began to collect the prints and drawings of young artists in Boston and New York in the 1970’s and eventually made claim to an impressive collection of works by both new and established artists. He built a community of fellow collectors, gallery owners and artists who remember him to this day for his expertise and enthusiasm. Because the art world was so vitally important to him, he recently established the Melvin Klayman Endowed Fund for Prints and Drawings at the Boston Public Library Fund to help it acquire works by local up and coming artistic talent. Mel was a truly sophisticated man of the world with great taste and an irrepressible sense of humor. His Jewish faith was extremely important to him, and he always kept in mind his origins and the tragic struggles of his ancestors in Russia, He always wanted just one brief inscription on his gravestone: “Here lies Mel Klayman, He was Jewish and a child of the universe.”

Mel’s span of seventy-five years was truly a life well lived with generosity, humor, loyalty, pride and dedication to hard work. He extended that hand of generosity even to strangers, whether they be homeless or the very obviously drug-involved people on the streets surrounding his home on Massachusetts Avenue. He would give money to those who asked him for it or who looked like they needed it. Or he would take someone into Dunkin Donuts, pay for their coffee or tell them to choose what they wanted from the menu, and he would pay for it. Drawing from his religious background, he explained that life was made up of small kindnesses called mitzvahs, acts of charity and loving-kindness which were central to the Torah way of life.

He was as great a friend as you could ever ask for and so many of his friends and family will attest to that lifetime of being on the receiving end of his giving. His legacy will continue to uplift all those who knew his wonderful spirit and to nurture future generations of young artists. Mel never forgot the humanity of life, believed in the Democratic Party, strove for a consciousness that connected us all. He believed in the individuality of all of us: he was a mensch.

He leaves behind his brothers Norman Klayman of Canton and Richard Klayman of Swampscott. He received dedicated care and support from his nephew Edward Klayman of Needham and his close friend Bob Page of Danvers and is survived by many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Gerald Klayman.

Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on July 9, 2025 at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 1668 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02445. Memorial donations may be made in Mel's name to the Jewish National Fund, please see link below.

The service will also be available via live stream at https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/a2507696028901