Harold Goldman

Harold Goldman was a gentleman and a scholar. At an early age he showed his curiosity for understanding how instruments work by taking his mother's wristwatch apart and experimenting with silverware and electrical outlets.

He excelled as a student and made personal friendships with several of his teachers, keeping in touch with them for many years. After two years of high school, Harold transferred to the University of Chicago, and then to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he continued his studies in biochemistry.  It was there that he met his wife, Esther, who was working in the Department of Psychiatry. They had grown up in the same Chicago neighborhood, and attended the same schools (including the University of Chicago), but never met until they were working in the lab of the acclaimed scientist Warren McCullough. Four months later they were married.

After Harold earned his PhD degree in neuroscience, they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he was a major contributor to the startup of a research center focused on brain chemistry at the Ohio State University. In 1973, the family of four left Ohio for Michigan, where he helped establish the Department of Pharmacology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. During his career he received numerous awards for his teaching and for his groundbreaking research on neuropeptides and brain blood flow.

After retiring, Harold and Esther traveled extensively and relocated to Oro Valley, north of Tucson. Everyone who knew him knew he loved to teach, and many friends were able to attend his lectures there. Titles included “Thinking About Thinking” and “Neurobiology as Engineering”. Everyone who knew him also knew that he always attributed his long, rich life to Esther, the love of his life. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a month before his death.

Harold was also devoted to the appreciation of music, particularly 20th century classical music, inviting friends over to listen to recordings on the speaker system that he’d built himself. He had a wicked sense of humor, and an unwavering sense of justice. No one who ever met him will forget him, and will always think of him as “Maaahvelous”.