Obit: Leon Bramson (1930 - 2019)

Leon Bramson, professor, scholar, teacher, author, foundation executive, kind and wonderful friend, and avid fisherman, died Sunday, September 8, 2019. He was 88, and a 35-year resident of Chevy Chase, MD. He was in his 11th year of suffering from Alzheimer's. After a long career in academia, including becoming the founding chair of the Department of Anthropology & Sociology at Swarthmore College, and subsequently an executive with the Exxon Education Foundation, he moved to Washington and served as a Program Director at the National Endowment for the Humanities before his retirement in early 2009. He served as a trustee of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association from 1973-1978, and of the College Retirement Equities Fund from 1978-1979. He leaves his wife, Nathalie; their son, Samuel Appleton Bramson; his daughter, Rachel Bramson, MD, (Benjamin S. Giese), and two grandchildren, Noah B. Giese and Abby Rose Giese; and his former wife, Mary Hamlin. He was predeceased by his daughter, Ruth. A memorial service will be scheduled later. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Sophie and William Bramson Prize at Swarthmore College, an academic stipend for excellence in sociology that Lee established in memory of his parents. To contribute, address to: Development Office, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19083, subject line: Sophie and William Bramson Prize.