Manson Julius Solomon

Manson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 30, 1941 to parents Sera and Herbert Solomon. Valedictorian of Highlands North Boys High School, Manson was awarded scholarships that enabled him to pursue degrees around the globe and across several academic disciplines. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of the Witwatersrand, a Masters in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science, a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University, and a Masters in Education from Harvard University, where he was a principal collaborator on social interaction systems research led by social psychologist Robert Freed Bales. As a graduate student, he taught courses at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

His commitment to learning and exploration were reflected in a lifetime of cultivating myriad interests and continually reinventing himself. He was an entrepreneur twice over. First, in the 1970’s, as the owner of an artisan crafts shop on Nova Scotia’s Cabot Trail. Second, as the founder of a real estate investment and management firm operating outside Boston from the late 1980’s through the early 2000’s.

In his retirement, he continued to create. Free to explore his artistic side more fully, he wrote fervently as part of Boston literary groups. His poetry has been published in the Muddy River Poetry Review, Anthropology Now, The Somerville Times and The Lincoln Review. Not one to limit himself to

just a single creative endeavor, Manson took his piano playing skills to the next level, immersing himself in the world of traditional jazz. He shared his love of the genre with the community by starting The Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band. He was at his happiest among his fellow musicians, tickling the ivory keys on the Steinway at Bemis Hall or on his electric keyboard as a weekly entertainer at the summer Farmers’ Market.

Manson’s love of the natural world is a significant part of the legacy he leaves behind. It was evident in acts small and large: from tending daily to his beloved moss-laden, woodland yard to choosing to live in some of the most idyllic places around the world. He found great peace spending his final years

in close proximity to the forests frequented by Emerson and Thoreau, writers, philosophers and naturalists who inspired him.

Manson is survived by his daughter Sara Solomon, son Joshua Solomon and Joshua’s partner Kristin MacDonald, their mother Mildred Solomon, his sister and brother-in-law Vicki and Benny Nackan, nephew and niece-in-law Steven Nackan and Kim Panovka and their children, nieces Hilary and Lisa Nackan and their children, cousins the Berman, Rosin and Metz families, and close friends Jill Solomon, Alan Blumner, and the Susser and Stein family.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manson was buried in a small family ceremony. A larger memorial service for extended family and friends will be arranged in his honor in the coming months.