Deceased February 17, 2014
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Remembrances by Dr. Julie Morse Havighurst
In Memory
Al Havighurst—the “Ghurst” to Amherst friends—died peacefully five days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
A consummate raconteur, he regaled those of us from more humble backgrounds with stories of his beloved University School and Shaker Heights high society.
After Amherst, he taught at University School before starting a solo law practice in Cleveland specializing in taxes, probate and estate planning. Old-school Ghurst would make home visits to elderly clients.
Our longtime class secretary, he had a delightful sense of humor and an encyclopedic memory. His trivia quizzes were a reunion highlight. (“Quickly: Which U.S. president went to Williams? What was the probation in Animal House that Dean Wormer imposed on Delta House?”)
Rarely was he wrong, but he once thought the famous book was Twenty Years before the Mast instead of Two Years before the Mast. When shown the correct title, he exclaimed that it was the condensed version.
Al had an abiding love for Amherst and Beta Theta Pi, of which he was president. He was invaluable to his fraternity brothers, as he knew which classes required the least work. An unflagging booster of Shaker Heights and Cleveland, he hosted two mini reunions there: In 2006 he showed us the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, gave an insider’s tour of the city and took us to an Indians game at Jacobs Field. In 1993 he hosted us at the soon-to-close Cleveland Stadium. One of his favorite stories was the arrest of one of us for scalping extra tickets.
Al was predeceased by his parents, James and Helen, and brother Bruce ’59. He is survived by brother Doug ’61; niece Lauren Havighurst Tackett ’96; nephew Bryan Havighurst; significant other/legal associate Martha Lee; and former wife, Julie Morse Havighurst. His late uncle Alfred Havighurst was an emeritus professor at Amherst.
Ghurst’s memory lives in the hearts of many who loved and miss him dearly.
Douglas Havighurst ’61
George Fleming ’67
Michael Boxer ’67