By Kristen LaRue-Sandler — October 31, 2025
Editor's note: This memorial piece was drawn from various sources, including recollections of family, former students, and ASU faculty and staff, as well as from an obituary published in The Arizona Republic on Oct. 7.
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Professor Emeritus of English Donald Haberman passed away on Sep. 5, 2025.
Haberman was born in Passaic, New Jersey in 1933 and completed his PhD in English literature at Yale University in 1962. He held teaching positions at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania and the University of Montana in Missoula before joining the ASU Department of English faculty in 1967.
At ASU, Haberman taught eighteenth century British literature, contemporary American literature, Native American-student sections of first-year composition, and Asian American contemporary literature. Former students remember him as helpful and kind and “an incredible teacher.” He published works on Thornton Wilder, G. B. Shaw, Ford Madox Ford and James Joyce. He retired from teaching in 1995.
In addition to his accomplishments in the literary arts, Haberman enjoyed other creative pursuits, including cooking and baking. He also loved attending the cinema and ballet with his wife Lidia, whom he married in 1957. He was an accomplished, self-taught visual artist, having been painting and drawing since early childhood. Haberman’s artwork was part of an exhibit at ASU’s Watts College.
A memorial was held on Oct. 12 and the family has directed that donations in his memory be made to Hospice of the Valley.