Edgar (Ed) Klugman (1930 – 2024)
A professor, expert, advocate of children’s play
To All
I have crossed over to be with my late wife, Hertha Anne Klugman. I have had a great life! I have come from contribution and forgiveness and left many heart prints behind. I have planted so many seeds. Please tend to the sprouts and keep them alive. I send you all my love and best wishes for lives well lived. Thank you for connecting with me in this life and thank you for carrying on the ideas we shared and the love of children and play. Sending my best regards to you all from Heaven.
Love,
Ed Klugman
Ed Klugman was a friend and someone I was always happy to see. He passed away from us February 11, 2024. We heard from him by way of a “note from Heaven”- even at death he wanted to play with us. He left an incredible life of joy. He was 98 and a half.
His early life was filled with hardship, fear, and anxiety. Edgar Siegfried Klugman was born in 1930 Nuremberg, Germany as a Jew. Hitler and his Nazi Party thugs were coming to power. One day the young Edgar went to a playground where he had always played . There was a new sign there prohibiting Jews to play. The day before the sign was not there. Ed began to learn at a young age what discrimination and prejudice looked like. He also just wanted to play.
In his later years, Ed was integral to a group of male early childhood teachers in New England. One meeting he told us a story of his life in Nuremberg. As a young child with curiosity he happened upon a Nazi rally. And thinking it was just a joyous parade, he stayed to watch. It had bands, flags , singing, and speeches and It was exciting for a young child with no understanding of the rally’s purpose. When he returned home, his parents learned of his experience and had to teach him the dangers of these public events.
Soon his parents arranged his escape from Germany on the last Kindertransport trains to Britain and was spared the genocide that followed. He was reunited with his parents there,
By the end of World War Two Ed had moved to New York and started working as a teacher. He was one of the few male teachers in the school. Ed was captured by the joy of working with children and began taking courses at Columbia University to achieve his Doctorate degree.
Ed met and married Hertha Anne Slavason in 1950. He and Hertha worked in education and spent many years in Afghanistan as a specialist for the Department of Education. Eventually the couple moved to Newtonville, Massachusetts and had three children. He began teaching at Wheelock College and worked on Early Education, Policy and Play with NAEYC. Ed helped to organize international workshops and was on many advisory boards. He was known around the world for his work on play.
He was a member of P.E.A.C.E. and received the Peace Award in Nashville, TN, in 2019 (photo below). His daughter, Kerri, has also been part of P.E.A.C.E., working with young children in the Boston area. Kerri was awarded a P.E.A.C.E. project a few years ago. She also became a member of the board of Boston Chapter of Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children.
Ed was active in MenTeach-New England where he not only told us stories but taught his German beer songs. He joined many regional gatherings and gave several talks on play.
For his 95th birthday Ed and his family went to Portugal to promote world peace. He stayed at the Peace Community of Tamera Peace Research and Education Center and developed a Global Peace Curriculum. Ed wanted me to read the book Tetras Nova The Global Revolution and the Healing of Love. I have a few chapters left.
Ed had not only three children but numerous grandchildren and family members . And he considered us in the early childhood community as part of his family.
Ed was truly a unique mentor for the world and brought joy to so many.
Ed’s obituary ended with this:
Ed was a lifelong learner, teacher, storyteller, and gatherer who believed in the power of play. He was a visionary and connector. He was resilient and a reconciler. Ed turned grief into kindness and promoted peace and healing. His bountiful seeds of love and eternal energy will continue to bless our world.
