In Memoriam

Sam Goldberger

Sam Goldberger
1964 graduation

Obituary, Molloy Funeral Home

Sam Goldberger, 66, beloved husband of Maria (Stipsits) Goldberger, passed away on June 9th at Hartford Hospital after a brief illness, surrounded by his family.

Sam was born in Bridgeport on March 21, 1942, son of the late Louis and Margaret (Gross) Goldberger. He attended local schools and graduated from Yale University in 1964. He went on to Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in East Central European History.

After teaching briefly at Brooklyn College and conducting graduate research in Hungary, he taught history at Capital Community College for 33 years, retiring in 1993. Hundreds of former students remember him fondly as a professor, and he particularly enjoyed advising student clubs.

In his retirement he fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel widely in the Middle East and Asia and research his family roots in Hungary. Sam was a member of the West Hartford Democratic Town Committee, a Justice of the Peace, and active in We Refuse to Be Enemies, Greater Hartford PFLAG, and many other interfaith and peace organizations and movements.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter Judy Goldberger of Boston. Additionally he leaves a half brother, Joe Galler and his wife, Kathy, of Delaware and numerous cousins in the United States, Canada, and Hungary. Funeral services will be Friday at 10:00 am at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., followed by interment in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford. Friends and family may call from 2-4 and 7-9 pm on Thursday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Capital Community College Foundation, 950 Main St., Room 1111, Hartford, CT 06103; Hartford Seminary (designated for the MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian Muslim Relations), 77 Sherman St., Hartford, CT 06105, or the charity of the donor's choice.