Dr. Bernard Kaplan

KAPLAN, Dr. Bernard 83, of Worcester died peacefully in his sleep on December 2. Bernie was a devoted husband, father, and brother. Bernie leaves behind his wife, Jane St. Clair, his sons Michael and David, his daughter Ruth, and his grandchildren Rachel, Elliot, Serena, Daniel, and Natasha. His two brothers, Irving and Victor, and his sister Lucille, preceded him in death. Bernard Kaplan was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1925. His mother and father were immigrants from the Ukraine and they operated a neighborhood grocery store. From his earliest years, Bernie loved books and knowledge. He entered Brooklyn College as a teenager, and after serving as a medical technician in Burma and China during World War II, he pursued a lifetime of learning, teaching, and scholarship. In 1950, Bernie arrived at Clark University, where he completed a Bachelors and Ph.D. in psychology, joined the Psychology Department as a faculty member, and began a career that would extend almost 60 years. During his time at Clark, Bernie held adjunct professorships in English, Philosophy, and Comparative Literature. He was appointed Director of Academic Innovation and, later, held the G. Stanley Hall Chair in Genetic Psychology. With his colleagues, he made important contributions to behavioral geography and ecological psychology. The breadth of his contributions to education was recognized in his appointment as Clark's first University Professor. Bernie was most interested in symbolization - the relationship of language and thought. Some of this work was summarized in a 1963 book, Symbol Formation, coauthored with his advisor and mentor, Heinz Werner, and reprinted in many different languages. Bernie's work on development and symbolization was disseminated during the sixties and seventies through published papers, presentations, and visiting or consulting positions at Harvard, the University of Chicago, the University of Alberta, and elsewhere. Bernie was a strong advocate for peace and justice, spending years calling for an end to the Vietnam War. Possessed of a mind of uncommon brilliance and depth, Bernie inspired in generations of college and graduate students an enthusiasm for thinking, learning, and creativity. Bernie was also a man of rare compassion, and it is for this most of all that he will be forever loved by his friends, colleagues, students, and family. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, Jan. 16th at Clark University. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Clark University in memory of Bernard Kaplan.