Maurry Tamarkin, 83, professor emeritus of finance, passed away on Monday, July 12, after suffering a cardiac arrest while making a “spectacular diving catch” during a pickup softball game.
His daughter, Molly, shared the news in a Facebook post. “While we’re still in shock and devastated,” she wrote, “we’re comforted knowing that’s exactly the way he would have wanted to go: swiftly, without pain, while making a fabulous catch.”
Tamarkin retired in 2011 after 30 years on the Clark faculty. Along with teaching courses in corporate finance, international finance, and stock and bond valuation, he researched risk attitudes and risk management. He published a number of articles on his favorite topic, sports betting, and authored several book chapters. Voted “Professor of the Year” three times by students in the then-Graduate School of Management, he also served as the GSOM Acting Dean from 1996-1998.
But his greatest impact was often outside the classroom, where his grace, compassion, and quick wit earned him the respect and affection of the many students he mentored, befriended, and hosted in his home. Hundreds of Tamarkin’s friends and former students reacted to his daughter’s Facebook post.
“During a lifetime, a few individuals make a lasting impact with caring and wisdom,” wrote Robert Speck ’87, MBA ’88. “I can’t fully know who I would have become without him in my life, but I do know how much he influenced my outlook on a wide variety of areas — life lessons and memories that mean everything.”
Namit Shah, MBA ’90, wrote, “Maurry will always be remembered fondly, not just because he was a great teacher, but he was a great human being who touched the lives of so many students. I am one of them. There are so many memories that I have that are attached to him. He chose his moment to go in his own inimitable way.”
Tamarkin was “energetic, humorous, and considerate,” recalled Ran Liu, MSF ’09, who shared a memorable moment when Tamarkin tried to do a handspring on the way back to his seat after receiving a GSOM award.
“Maurry Tamarkin was one of my favorite professors at Clark GSOM,” shared Heather L’Heureux, MBA ’02. “He was a truly genuine person with a passion for teaching.”
Tamarkin is survived by his wife of 59 years, Julie Chipps Tamarkin, and four children: Joseph and his wife, Heidi; Molly and her husband, Ken; Susannah and her husband, Javier; and Jacob and his wife Elisabeth. He also leaves seven grandchildren — Alora, Ezekiel, Elias, Seth, Sophie, Jay, and Sasha — as well as two brothers, Allan and Stanley, two sisters, Pamela and Sasha, numerous nieces and nephews, and countless students, colleagues, and friends.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 16, at 10 a.m. at the Ascher-Zimmerman Funeral Home in Springfield, Massachusetts, followed by burial at Sinai Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to the Maurry Tamarkin Finance Fellowship Fund at the Clark University School of Management, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610. The Fund was established by his nephew, David Reis, to recognize Tamarkin’s impact at Clark.