William A. Behr’s wife, Soma Golden Behr, was a former reporter and editor at The New York Times. She passed away in Manhattan surrounded by her loved ones.
Soma succumbed to breast cancer, which spread to other organs in the palliative care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Highlights
- Soma Golden Behr was born to her parents, Dr. Benjamin Golden and Edith Golden, in Washington, District of Columbia.
- The American newspaper editor started her career at The New York Times in 1973 after working at Business Week Magazine from 1962 to 1973.
- William A. Behr and Soma Golden Behr shared two children, Ariel and Zachary G. Behr, from their almost five decades of marital life.
Although she was at the top of her game, Soma remained a down-to-earth person who mentored other women and didn’t see herself as an ideologist feminist.
The American newspaper editor is survived by her husband, two children, four grandchildren, and sister, Carol Golden.
William A. Behr’s Wife, Soma Golden Behr, was a Pioneering Editor and Award-Winning Journalist!
Soma Golden Behr was born to her parents, father Dr. Benjamin Golden, and mother Edith Golden, on August 27, 1939, in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
She was born to well-educated parents; her father was a surgeon, while her mother was a national board member of the Technion Society.
The veteran editor initiated her career at The Times in 1973 after working for over a decade at Business Week magazine.
Before joining The Times, she was on the economics staff at Business Week Magazine from 1962 to 1973.
While at The Times, Soma held various editing and reporting positions and played a key role in several projects that earned coveted awards.
A Stroll to Soma Golden Behr’s Remarkable Career From Editorial Board to Scholarship Advocate!
Soma started as an editorial board member at The Times and held that position for a few years, from 1977 to 1982.
Later, Soma operated the Sunday Business section in the early 1980s from 1982 to 1987, working closely with the correspondent Nathaniel C. Nash.
Not to forget, she became the first female national news editor in 1987 and held the position for six years until 1993.
Soma was an assistant managing editor of The New York Times from 1993 until her retirement in 2005.
Following her retirement, she was a New York Times scholarship program director under which Scholarship Plus was founded.
It's #internationalwomensday2018 and we want to thank @ScholarshipPlus co-founders Soma Golden Behr (L) and Melanie Rosen Brooks (R). When @nytimes college scholarships cut funds during GFC, they said "we're going to go out and help more students". And they did. #bethechangePLUS pic.twitter.com/ffSM6HKEwE
— Scholarship Plus (@ScholarshipPlus) March 8, 2018
She also co-founded Scholarship Plus (SPlus) with Melanie Rosen Brooks in 2010 and served as its director for five years.
Later, the newspaper editor also served as the executive director of Scholarship Plus for 7 years before being a Senior Advisor.
Moreover, some of her award-winning projects include Children in the Shadows, How Race is Lived in America, and Class Matters.
The veteran of The Times, she was an honors graduate of Radcliffe College and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Soma and William, a Married Couple of Almost Five Decades, Had a Family of Four Members!
Soma Suzzane Golden and William Alexander Behr married on November 28, 1974, at Soma’s parents’ house in Washington.
They shared two children, daughter Ariel Behr and son Zachary G. Behr, from their blissful marriage of almost five decades.
Soma and William blessed their daughter Ariel at her wedding to Robert William Eberhardt III in 2012 at their weekend home in Hopewell Junction, New York.
Born in 1976, Ariel Behr has been the Director of Raza Development Fund’s East Coast Region since 2015.
Previously, she was the deputy chief program officer at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a nonprofit social service organization in New York.
Likewise, Ariel was the Director of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation’s Computer Resource Centers Program.
William and Soma’s daughter, Ariel, also served at Local Initiatives Support Corporation until 2015.
A native New Yorker, Ariel has been a member of the Bronx Community Charter School Board since 2008.
She graduated with a BA from Swarthmore College, where she met her husband, Robert.
Eventually, she graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia Business School, focusing on Social Enterprise.
Ariel now lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.
According to the New York Times, their son, Zachary, is a History Channel executive.
Additional Information
- William A. Behr was born to Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Behr.
- William’s father was a sales director for Family Record Plan Inc., and his mother was a tutor affiliated with the Kingsbury Remedial Education Center.
- William A. Behr graduated from the University of Colorado and studied Social Work at Smith College School.
