Daniel Goldrich died Sunday, December 21st in Portland, Oregon, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was born March 29, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio to Rose Winsberg Goldrich and Ernest Martin Goldrich. He grew up with his older sister Janet, his lifelong mentor and guide. Rose was a psychiatric social worker. Ernie ran a dental practice. Dinner conversation always revolved around politics and news of the day.

Dan distinguished himself as a student and a citizen of the world. During high school, he spent summers at American Friends Service Committee camps, including the Highlander Folk School, which focused on labor organizing, racial integration, and social change and shaped Dan’s commitment to social responsibility.

Valedictorian of his high school class, Dan followed Janet to Antioch College. He majored in political science and thrived in Antioch’s blend of academic study and real-world experience. In his senior year, Dan and his friend Fred Bass traveled to Kake, Alaska with AFSC to help villagers build homes and later he went to another work camp in Mexico.

As a freshman in 1951, Dan met Hannah Victor from New York. They were friends during their four years at Antioch, connected as camp counselors in Taos, New Mexico, and were married at Usonia Homes, New York on Sept 1, 1956.

Dan’s interest in Latin American politics led him to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1955 to pursue a doctorate. Dan and Hannah settled in Chapel Hill, where Dan completed his Ph.D. in four years.

Dan’s academic career began at Michigan State University, where Dan and Hannah’s first two children, Gina and Ben, were born. Dan’s research took the family to the Panama Canal Zone, and San José, Costa Rica. These experiences informed his book, Sons of the Establishment: Elite Youth in Panama and Costa Rica, and cemented his reputation as a serious scholar and devoted teacher.

In 1963, Dan accepted a position at the University of Oregon, and the family moved to Eugene. Dan focused on Latin and Central American politics and Pacific Northwest energy politics. His enthusiasm was infectious, and his impact enduring. Rarely did a day pass without a former student stopping him to say how profoundly his teaching had shaped them. In 1997, Dan received the Herman Faculty Award for excellence in teaching.

In 1964, Dan collaborated with Robert Agger and Bert Swanson on Rulers and the Ruled: Political Power and Impotence in American Communities, based on interviews in small Oregon towns. The work won the Political Science Association’s “Book of the Year” award.

The Goldrich family grew again in May of 1966 with the birth of Anna. A year later, Dan received a Ford Foundation grant to study settlements outside Santiago, Chile. The family spent 18 months there, navigating daily life in Spanish—Dan fluently, the rest with determination. And in 1973, the family grew again with the addition of Steve.

Dan was involved in the struggles of countries like El Salvador and Nicaragua. During the 1980s he joined Witness for Peace in documenting human rights violations there. In 1990, Steve joined Dan on a trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

In the late 70s, Dan helped found the Community Development Corporation NEDCO in the Whitaker neighborhood of Eugene. Dan and Hannah were part of the McKenzie River Gathering, now Seeding Justice. Dan was passionate about Clergy and Laity Concerned, now the Community Alliance of Lane County.

Dan loved biking around Eugene and swimming in Mexico and NW lakes. In 1994, Dan and Hannah began yearly trips to Oaxaca, Mexico staying with old friends at Casa Panchita. It became their “home away from home”.

Dan had a sense of color and design and often advised Hannah in her jewelry work. In his later years, Dan created beautiful landscape paintings with guidance from his friend and renowned painter John Jay Cruson.

For fifty years, Dan and Hannah joined with the Pease, Van Houten, Streisinger and Deutsch families for a weekly dinner. The group became an extended family and an important part of Dan and Hannah’s lives.

Despite his disease, the Goldriches continued to live in the home they loved in Eugene with the help of the community and caregivers. In fall of 2025, they moved to Terwilliger Plaza in Portland, to be closer to Gina, Anna, Steve, and their grandchildren.

Dan was guided by his intellect, curiosity and his drive for social justice. He will always be remembered for his passionate commitment to his students and his great support of their personal goals. The many colleagues and students whose lives he touched will not forget Dan’s sharp mind, his generosity of spirit, his devotion to Hannah and their children. Dan had a great sense of humor and was a particularly playful grandfather and great grandfather.

Dan is survived by his wife of 69 years, Hannah Victor Goldrich and his four children, Gina Jones (Jeff Jones), Ben Goldrich (Colleen Goldrich), Anna Goldrich (Jim Middaugh), Steve Goldrich (Sara Vonde Veld) as well as eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

The family is planning a memorial for Dan in Eugene in March, 2026.