Peter Titelman

Peter Titelman

Northampton, MA - March 29, 1944-August 6, 2025

Peter Titelman, beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, died on August 6, 2025, of complications from end-stage Alzheimer's disease. He was living in the memory care unit of Rockridge Retirement Community when he died. Peter was a clinical psychologist with a long-time family therapy practice in Northampton, MA, writer/editor of six books on Bowen family systems theory that continue to be central to national and international training programs in family systems therapy, political activist with a life-long commitment to human rights, traveler, avid conversationalist, serious jazz aficionado, long distance ocean swimmer, fierce tennis player, and enthusiast for outdoor adventures.

Peter was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1944, where his parents were part of a radical leftist community that included friends who were targets of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). His father, Leonard Robert Titelman, was a human rights lawyer and union organizer, and his mother, Lory Dietz Titelman, was the founder and director of the Westland School, a progressive elementary school in Los Angeles.

When Peter was 11, his family moved east, first to Altoona, PA, and then to New York City where his father ran the marketing department of the family business, Puritan Sportswear, and his mother was principal of the Bank Street School in its original Greenwich Village location. Peter spent his high school yeas at the New Lincoln School graduating in 1962.

Peter attended Earlham College in Richmond, IN, where he majored in psychology, played varsity tennis, and graduated in 1966. He was actively involved in the Civil Rights movement during his college summers, spending time in Albany, GA, where he was arrested and jailed for his work with African American adolescents, went on a hunger strike, and then was ultimately released to return to college. He spent the following summer in Mississippi where he worked for a Head Start early reading program. He was also an active member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s.

Peter received his PhD in psychology from Duquesne University1977. Concurrent with his doctoral studies, Peter participated in a Bowen family systems training program that gave him a commitment and direction for his future professional work, as well as a focus for his writing.

In 1978 Peter moved to Northampton, MA, where his two children were born, Sam in 1978 and Claire in 1980. Being a father was one of the great joys of his life. He cheered on his children in sports and live performances, while encouraging their dreams, interests and career paths. He took many trips to Los Angeles to visit Claire and traveled to Syria to visit Sam in 2003.

In Western Massachusetts Peter was hired as the director of a new family therapy program at the Westfield Area Mental Health Clinic. He was also a principal in LaForte & Titelman Associates, providing clinical practice, consultation, training, and supervision in Northampton. He was a founding member of the New England Seminar on Bowen Theory, and supervised graduate students in family therapy at several New England professional schools. He was also an approved supervisor for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, and taught Bowen family systems theory at the Society of Family Consultants and Psychologists in Moscow, Russia. He presented academic papers for professional conferences at the Center for the Study of Bowen Theory in Washington, D C, and in other locations around the United States. He also edited six books on concepts from Bowen family systems theory. He had a deep interest in exploring his own family history, connecting with relatives and traveling to search for ancestors in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.

Although Peter was proud of his Jewish ethnic identity, he and his family were not religious and were not supporters of the Israeli Zionist project in Palestine. He first became interested in learning more about the human rights aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, when he met Professor Mohammed Sawalha, founder of the Palestinian House of Friendship (PHF), at a conference at the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice in Deerfield, MA, in 2003. PHF was a small community organization in Nablus on the West Bank, offering programs to children and their families, especially those living in refugee camps.

Peter and his wife, Katharine, traveled to Nablus many times in the ensuing years, visiting Mohammed and his family, traveling around the West Bank and observing first-hand the human rights inequities stemming from the Israeli military occupation. They invited Mohammed to visit them in Northampton annually, and organized fundraising events in support of PHF's programs. With their friend Sherrill Hogen, they created a network called the American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship that supported PHF in regional centers in Western MA, Cambridge, MA, Vermont, and Brooklyn, NY.

After Covid broke out, those in-person fundraising events switched to an online format supported by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), with Mohammed joining online and contributing videos and music created by PHF.

Throughout his life Peter was happiest spending time each summer in Truro, Cape Cod, a place he called "paradise on earth." He loved ocean swimming, taking long beach walks with his dogs, playing Kadima with his children, and exploring the bike trails of the National Seashore. He also loved visits to Vinalhaven, ME, where he canoed, biked, and swam in its fresh water quarries.

Peter is survived by his wife, Katharine Gratwick Baker, his son Sam Titelman, his daughter Claire Titelman (Amir Kenan), his former wife Claudia Titelman, his nephew Josh van Praag, his nieces Katharine and Lucy van Praag, step-nephews Lucas and Nick van Praag, step-niece Jo van Praag, his stepsons Jack Baker, Kendall Baker (Sonia Sultan), Andrew Baker (Andrea Griswold), Malcolm Baker (Christina Wood Baker), three brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law (Jane Bryden), numerous beloved cousins, and his closest friend and business partner Jack LaForte (Nancy Knudsen) who taught Peter to be a jazz drummer and visited him weekly throughout his final illness. He is also mourned by Jenny and Sasha Wallace.

He was predeceased by his parents and his older sister, Kathy van Praag, who died in Tuscany, Italy, on August 6, 2023.

Family and friends in western Massachusetts and around the world remember Peter as affectionate, kind, intelligent, playful, and humorous. His curiosity, interest, and caring enabled him to connect on a personal level with almost anyone. Jack LaForte wrote that "Pete was driven by his values and he was unwavering in his commitment to his beliefs and passions, from his political activism to his love of jazz pianist Bill Evans. He made the most of what he had and remained generative and engaged."

Peter's family would like to especially thank Dr. Rebecca Starr, geriatrician, Andree LeBlanc, VNA hospice nurse, Bush I, private duty aide, and the staff of the Rockridge memory care unit for their kindness and care during Peter's illness.

A Celebration of Life for Peter Titelman will be held Wednesday, September 17, 4: p.m. at the Look Park Garden House in Northampton, MA.

All are warmly invited to attend and share memories of Peter.

Donations in Peter's memory can be made to Westland School in Los Angeles (www.westlandschool.org), the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington DC (www.thebowencenter.org), and the Palestinian House of Friendship (www.palestinianhouseoffriendship.com)