Michael Fixler, 79, of Winchester and East Sandwich, passed away on Feb. 10th at Winchester Hospital. Born in Kisvarda, Hungary, he was the son of the late Solomon and Gizella (Stern) Fixler. He came to the United States with his family at age 3, and they made their home in New York City, where he was raised and educated. He graduated from De Witt Clinton High School at the age of 16, with the class of 1944. Following a year at the City College of New York, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was enrolled one day after World War II ended.
He earned his BS from the University of Wisconsin, where he met his future wife Charlotte, whom he married in 1949. They then moved to Paris where he pursued advanced degrees at the Sorbonne and later Oxford University in England. He ultimately received a PhD in English in 1960 from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Fixler was a Professor of English at Tufts University from 1961-1995, and was a fellow of the Harvard Divinity School. He was the author of several books and numerous scholarly articles on a wide range of subjects in the Humanities, and a member of various Academic Societies, including the Society for Religion in Higher Education, the Modern Language Assoc. (MLA) and the Milton Society.
He was the beloved husband of Charlotte S. (Sepersky) of Winchester. He also leaves behind his children, David Nandor and his wife Phyllis Halpern of Weston, Jonathan Claude of Waltham and Jessica Ann Fixler and her husband David Jacoby of Wellesley. He was the dear brother of Fred Fixler of CA and Violet Mendelsohn of New York City and is also survived by his 6 grandchildren, Matthew and Andrew Fixler, Lillian Fishman, and Weston, Brent and Camille Jacoby. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, April 29th at 1:30PM at Goddard Chapel, Tufts University, Medford. A reception will follow at the Chase Function Room, Carmichael Hall on campus. Donations in his memory may be made to the Friends of the Winchester Public Library, 80 Washington St., Winchester, MA 01890.