Leonard Michael Helfgott

I happened upon this obituary. I knew Lenny when we were both summer camp counselors in Starlight, PA around 1960. He was a great guy, a mentor, a few years older than me. He was very smart, funny, played the banjo and sang folk music and definitely left-leaning. I'm glad he went on to have the family and career he had; it sounds like a good life. I send condolences.

I knew Leonard's niece Jackie Helfgott in Seattle before I was astudent at WWU. My sympathy to Jackie. I enjoyed hearing lectures at WWU from Leonard. I last saw Jackie in 1998 and she was a professor at Seattle University. She and I were classmates in Marilyn Smith's English 101 class at North Seattle Community College in 1983 Spring quarter. I was born in Baltimore in 1960.

Professor Helfgott was my undergraduate mentor and the reason my BA studies were focused on the Middle East. Basically, I took every class he taught.

Dr. Helfgott guided me through the convoluted and layered history of that troubled part of the world. He opening my mind and my heart to the beauty and richness of the region's myriad cultures in a way that denigrated none and respected all.

Lenny knew that I had worked to get an intro Middle East history course into the...

Prof. Helfgott was a great mentor to me during my 4 years at Western. I was a student in several of his classes, and also served as his Teaching Fellow in 2001. He always made history come alive, bringing diverse perspectives, a breadth of real-world experience, and a fair, yet rigorous approach to teaching. I will always remember him with a smile.

Kathryn, our condolences to you and family in the loss of Lenny. We send sincere wishes for your comfort and healing.
Betty and Lyle Harris

Great man and history professor. Had several classes with Professor Helfgott in 1983 and 1984. My condolences to the Helfgott family.
Marc Tickner, WWU class of 1987