Markel, Norman
MARKEL, Norman
Nathan
Norman Nathan Markel, beloved husband, father, grandfather and uncle, passed away May 11, 2023, at the age of 93.
Norman was born October 19, 1929, in Detroit, Michigan to Sarah Horowitz and Isador Markel. Norman passed peacefully, surrounded by family who had cared for him during his brief time in hospice care at home in Asheville, North Carolina. Norman is survived by his spouse, Dale Stratford; sons, Aaron, Jordan, and Philip and their spouses, Marie, Catalina, and Susie; grandsons, Jordan and Zachary and granddaughters, Shaylee and Sarah; Norm's sister-in-law, Shay Stratford and her husband, Tom Wilson; Norm's nephews, Scott Wilson and Jeffrey Markel; and nieces, Jennie Harson, Ashley Wilson, Analah and Lyla Harson, Shannon and Ashley Jackson, and Deborah and Rachel Markel; and cousin, Laura Westbrook. A memorial celebration, including a round of Norman's favorite song Solidarity Forever and a wandering neighborhood Black bear, was attended by the many neighbors and friends who had also fed and comforted the family before Norm's death. Norm was buried on May 15, 2023, at the Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, in Mills River, NC. The family offers sincere gratitude to CarePartners Hospice.
In 1948, at age 17, Norman joined the Habonim youth movement and was trained in welding at Lincoln Electric in Cleveland. From 1950-52, he worked with Kibbutz Urim as a pipeline welder in the Israeli Negev, and on return to the US, Norm joined the United Steelworkers as a welder in Detroit until enrolling in Wayne State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1956.
In1960, Norman received a doctorate in psychology at the University of Chicago and began his academic career at the State University of New York at Buffalo. On a post-doctoral fellowship while at Buffalo, he studied linguistics with George Traeger and Henry Lee Smith, kinesics and non-verbal behavior with Ray Birdwhistle, and paralinguistics with the folk song collector and publisher Alan Lomax. His several publications, based on a broad interdisciplinary perspective on human communication, began during this period.
In 1964, Norman, Alice his wife at the time, and their three sons, moved to Gainesville, FL, where Norm began his 36-year career as a professor at the University of Florida in psychology, linguistics, communication sciences, and anthropology. Norman was described by students as a wonderful teacher, who had also provided support for progressive students' organizations, such as the Black Student Union and students opposing the war in Vietnam. He was also a principal leader of the successful organizing drive for the statewide United Faculty of Florida and became its first statewide president.
In 1975, Norman married Dale Stratford, and after Norm retired from UF in 2000, they moved to Atlanta, where Norm joined Congregation Bet Haverim and their Tikkun Olam ("repair the world") social justice committee. During this period, Norman sought to combine his academic research with his political perspectives in papers that described the ways in which interpersonal communication patterns may inadvertently support either hierarchical or solidary forms of social relationships. This work continued after moving to Asheville, NC, in 2016.
In 2019, Norman published a brief "academic and political memoir of a working class Jewish American" entitled For Solidarity/Against Hierarchy, opening with memories of his father's support for workers' rights, union organizing, and supporting strikers. Through most of his life, Norman had built those memories into a passion for a solidary society and the fight against injustice - in his teens joining a movement to help build the State of Israel after WWII, as a professor building a statewide teachers' union and supporting workers' and students' rights, in retirement working with local organizations in Gainesville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia to institute local and statewide living wage policies.
Norm graced family and friends with his openness and warmth, a welcoming smile and his wonderful humor. He was always truly present and kind. He was proud of his sons and their wonderful families, and loved them all deeply, as he did his extended family.
He was the best and truest friend to his wife Dale and was her love. He offered so much to so many - his memory is cherished, and he will be mourned forever in our hearts. We will always love you, Norman.
