Erica Lehrer ’80

Erica died Oct. 30, 2019.

She was born in Manhattan, grew up in Westport, Conn and went to Staples High School. She played the flute and sang in the choir both in high school and at Princeton, where she sang with the Chapel Choir. Some of her friends and roommates at Princeton were Hughes Evans, Jennie Keane, and Becky Beardshaw. Hughes introduced her to her husband, Richard Goldman ’78, after they had both graduated.

Erica worked in publishing before attending New York University Law School, where she was a member of the law review. She won a prize for an article she wrote about the state of intellectual-property law. She worked at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Bodian & Eames. She had a second career as a journalist, primarily for the Texas Lawyer.

After Erica was diagnosed with multiple system atrophy-cerebellar, an extremely rare, progressive, degenerative neurological disease that is fatal in all cases, she turned her attention to poetry. She won several awards and published a book of poems titled Dancing with Ataxia. Erica served a partial term as class co-secretary, until she literally could no longer write.

Erica is survived by her husband, Richard; children Zoe ’11 and Zach ’12; grandchildren Felix and Estelle; and her mother, Eleanore Kurzman Shupack.