Ted Barkin

Barkin, Ted
92 years young, died peacefully in Eugene, Oregon on December 6, 2016, surrounded by family. He refused treatment for multiple myeloma and opted to take advantage of Oregon's Aid in Dying legislation, dying as he had lived his life, on his own terms and in control of his mind and body. Ted was the second of three children born to Abraham and Rose Barkin in the Bronx, New York in 1924. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. The experience of growing up in NYC during The Great Depression was forever embedded in his psyche. He told stories of men begging for pennies to feed their families and others jumping off buildings when they failed to do so. Throughout high school, Ted sold newspapers for The New York Times. Between 1943 and 1945, Ted was a corporal in the 20th Corps Forward in the 3rd Army under George S. Patton. He fought in the Ardennes, Central Europe, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland campaigns. After the war, Ted returned to New York and attended City College on the GI Bill, later earning an MSW and an EdD from Columbia University. In 1959, after working with teens at the Jewish Community Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut and a stint as co-executive director of the Newark Jewish Community Center, he and his wife, Sylvia, moved their young family to Phoenix, where he became the executive director of the Phoenix JCC, a position he held for nine years. From the late 60s through the 80's, Ted taught Sociology, Marriage and the Family, and Human Sexuality at Glendale Community College in Glendale, AZ. Concurrently, he maintained a small private practice in marriage and family counseling. Ted was an enthusiastic participant in the Human Potential Movement, which was based on the work of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Virginia Satir. He took additional training to become a certified sex therapist and was an active member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. After he and Sylvia divorced in 1976, Ted met Roberta Richards, a psychologist, artist, and native Oregonian with whom he lived for 36 years. The two of them led workshops and weekend trainings together at their cabin in Florence, Oregon where they lived every summer. They travelled throughout Europe and Mexico, and loved attending the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. When Roberta became ill, Ted took care of her for three years until her death in 2014. Throughout his life Ted was a voracious reader and a committed athlete. For many years, he played handball, golfed, pumped iron, and jogged. Even in his final year of life, he walked a couple of miles and lifted weights at least twice a week. Ted was passionate, energetic, exuberant, charismatic, emotionally intelligent, and movie-star handsome. Until the end, he listened to classical music every morning and watched Rachel Maddow every evening. Late in his life, Ted continued to make friends and attract admirers. Upon hearing of his demise, a young friend wrote, "He listened to me with his heart, not just his ears." Ted is survived by his daughter Debbie and her son, Brian; daughter Laurie, her husband, Brian, and their children Corianne, Danny, and Ben; and son Andy, his wife, Raye Ann, and their children Quinna and Jack. A celebration of Ted's life will be held at the Eugene Hotel in Eugene, Oregon on January 13, 2017 at 1 PM. In lieu of flowers, Ted preferred that donations in his memory be made to Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation. Alternatively, checks can be made payable to Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation (Dr. Ted Barkin listed on the memo line), addressed to Frances S. Mateo c/o Glendale Community College, 6000 W. Olive Ave, Glendale, AZ 85302. Please address all other communications to his daughter, Laurie, at laurkin@comcast.net.