Gordon “Gordie” Fellman, a beloved teacher and colleague, died on October 19, 2022 at the age of 88. He leaves behind his wife Pamela Blau, and their two children, Ezra and Talia.
The son of Charles and Rose (Shyken) Fellman, Gordie was born on May 10, 1934 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father owned a small grocery store. His life changed when he enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Meeting students from liberal East Coast families awakened Gordie’s social awareness and inspired his lifelong activism.
He received his Bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in 1957 and his Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1964. He retired in May 2022 after having taught at the university level for 60 years, 55 of those years at Brandeis, where he was Professor Emeritus of Sociology.
Fellman was chair of the Brandeis University Sociology Department from 1974–1976, and again from 1984–1987. He was also a cofounder and, from 1990 on, served as chair of the interdisciplinary Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Studies Program.
He received the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1999, the 2011 Robin Williams Award for Distinguished Contributions from the American Sociological Association, and the 2021 Peace Educator-Scholar Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association. For the Brandeis University 2022 Commencement, Gordie served as the Grand Marshall.
Date of Death: October 19, 2022
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