Michele Carol Tamaren was an inspirational speaker, life coach, spiritual director, writer and former special educator specializing in Positive Psychology. She grew up in Hartford CT and received her BS in elementary education at the University of Connecticut and her MA in special education from St. Joseph University in Hartford. She was also a graduate of the Certification in Positive Psychology program at Kripalu in Lenox, MA where she often taught seminars. She was the author of two books: ExtraOrdinary: An End of Life Story Without End; and I Make A Difference: A Curriculum Guide Building Self-Esteem and Sensitivity in the Inclusive Classroom. She taught at the Institute for the Blind in New York City and at the Gates School in Acton where she lived for many years before moving to Marblehead to be near her mother and father who had taken up residence at the Jack Satter House in Revere. A devoted daughter, sister, wife and mother, she was predeceased by her parents, Betty and Herman Liss of Revere and by her brother Barry Farber of Beverly. She was the beloved wife for 56 years of David Tamaren of East Boston and the loving mother of Scott and Cindy Tamaren of Fitchburg, MA. She was also the cherished sister-in-law of Ruth Brennan of Cranston, RI and the aunt of Matthew Brennan of Coventry, RI and the adored and adoring friend of too many to list here. Committed to making a difference in the lives of everyone she knew, she spoke widely at national, international and regional conferences on healing, compassion, caregiving, spiritual growth and positive psychology. In 2010, she received the ADL Leonard P. Zakim Humanitarian Award for her work fostering interfaith harmony. Her articles appeared in both the popular and professional press including the Reader’s Digest and Presence Magazine. She also hosted the weekly radio program Chagigah for WERS on Jewish music and musicians. She was a dedicated member of Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott where she founded and led various committees and events and where she taught classes integrating Jewish spirituality into her offerings to support the community that loved and embraced her when she moved to her beloved Marblehead. She was working on her third book when she experienced a near-fatal stroke three years ago which put her positive psychology learnings to the ultimate test. She handled her circumstances with grace, equanimity and with the same light she had brought to all her prior endeavors. She will be profoundly missed by all who knew her.
Her funeral will be held on Monday, July 22 at 1:00 pm at Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott, MA. A livestream of the service will be available on the Shirat Hayam YouTube channel. Interment will immediately follow at Pride of Lynn Cemetery, 89 Lake Shore Road, Lynn.
The family has requested that donations in Michele’s memory be made to the Michele Tamaren Artists-In-Residence Fund at Congregation Shirat Hayam.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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