Michael Fishbein

Fanklin, MA - Michael Fishbein, age 69, died peacefully in his sleep on November 8, 2022 at home in Franklin, MA.

Michael was born and grew up in Queens, New York. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York and received his Ph.D. from Clark University in Worcester, MA.

Michael’s love of learning drew him to a career in academia, he served several colleges and universities as a teacher and administrator, spending time in Albany and Syracuse, NY, Lyndonville, VT, Nashua, NH and Dayton, OH and New London, CT. His career brought him to Franklin as Vice President, Academic Affairs at Dean College in 2014. He retired from Dean at the end of 2019. He continued to teach a course he developed and poured his heart into, transitioning the dry and dreaded statistics into a business decision making/problem solving course. He often commented that knowing how to calculate the statistic was less important than understanding what to do with it and how to use it. Michael was an active and involved member of Temple Beth Torah in Holliston, MA and served as the parttime administrator there after his retirement from Dean. He was also a member of Temple Etz Chaim in Franklin and enjoyed friends from both communities.

Friends and family will remember Michael for his sharp wit, his work ethic, his kindness, and his love of good bourbon. Michael was pre-deceased by his parents, Irving and Lila Fishbein. He is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Mary Ann Oppenheimer, his sister Phyllis Sandler, nephew Matthew Sandler, niece Shelby Sandler Kempler, three great nieces, a great nephew, and many, many cousins.

A graveside service for Michael will be held on Sunday November 13, 2022 at 12:00 pm at Temple Israel Cemetery, 1620 Western Ave. in Guilderland. 
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Temple Beth Torah, Holliston, MA, Temple Etz Chaim, Franklin, MA, or Temple Israel, Albany, NY.
 

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