Berman, Malcolm I., 85. Arrangements by Bowers Funeral Home. Interment held in the Veterans Cemetery, Augusta.
Malcolm Irving Berman, 85.
Mr. Berman was born Thanksgiving, 1924, in Houlton, Maine to Meyer and Kate Berman. He graduated valedictorian from Houlton High School.
Malcolm was an eagle scout and the winner of the 1942 Elks National Foundation Scholarship contest. He was also awarded the State of Maine Bowdoin Scholarship. Malcolm Berman thereafter attended Bowdoin College, but received his B.A. from Yale University. Mr. Berman received his L.L.M. from the University of New Mexico Law School. He also attended Oxford University.
Mr. Berman served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946.
Mr. Berman maintained a law practice in Houlton, Maine and, at times, partnered with his brother Elliott Berman. Malcolm Berman represented the underdog with fervor and enjoyed representing Native Americans. He served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1961-1970 and was chairman of its Judiciary Committee.
He was an active brother of the Houlton Lodge of the Fraternal Order of the Elks for the past sixty years and gladly sought to follow the Elks’ principles of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity. He loved his fellow Elk brothers and appreciated their kindness and companionship, and fondly thought of the Lodge as his home away from home. He will dearly miss his fellow Elks. Malcolm was also a sixty year brother of Monument Lodge #96 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Houlton.
Mr. Berman was a great patriot and loved this country. Malcolm Berman was proud of his Maine roots and Jewish heritage. He was known by everyone in Houlton, and brilliant by everyone’s estimation. Mr. Berman had a voracious appetite for learning, reading every book and newspaper he could get his hands on. He had an impact on all who met him, and he will be missed. Toward the end of his life, in this thirst for education, he sat in on numerous college courses.
Mr. Berman never married, and proudly lived alone. He is survived by his nephew Mark Berman, also an attorney, and his nieces Anne Ehrenshaft, Joyce Beecher and Martha Kalotkin Schneider. He is survived by nine great nephews and nieces, as well as seven great, great nephews and nieces.
He was predeceased by his brother, Elliott Berman, and sister, Charlotte Kalotkin, also of Houlton, Maine.
Mr. Berman was buried in the Veterans Cemetery in Augusta, Maine, with a Jewish, Elks and Military ceremony. A tribute to his life was held by the Houlton Elks on October 3, 2010.
Donations may be sent to the Cary Library in Houlton, where Mr. Berman spent many years reading and teaching others the joy of thinking and learning.
Arrangements by Bowers Funeral Home.
