Edward Jonathan Bergman, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away on November 22, 2024 at the age of 82.
After spending his childhood in Bayonne with his brother, Robert, and parents, Abe and Ethel, Edward proudly graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. with Honors in Art History. He received his J.D. from Columbia University and, subsequently, spent two years as a graduate fellow at the Annenberg School of Communications where he worked in the Documentary Film Laboratory. Notably, he received the American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Award.
In the mid-’70s, after settling in Princeton, NJ, Edward began the private practice of law. The firm Bergman & Barrett was established and continued until his recent retirement. In the late-’80s, Edward became focused on alternative approaches to dispute resolution and was named to a Blue Ribbon Panel for the Creation of a Pilot Mediation Project for the U.S. District Court, District of NJ. From 1992 until his retirement, Edward mediated hundreds of cases in both state and federal courts.
In 1995, Edward returned to his alma mater and began teaching undergraduate courses in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at the Wharton School of Business. In 2011, he was awarded the William G. Whitney Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. In 2005, he transferred his skills to the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy where he founded the Penn Program for the Management of Clinical Conflict. With the assistance of his Penn colleagues, Edward conducted Intensive Clinical Ethics Mediation Workshops three to four times per year. In addition to his law practice and teaching assignments, Edward found the time to write and co-author numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals in the field of bioethics.
Edward’s connection to Penn extended beyond academics with his intense passion for Penn athletics, the Palestra, and Quaker Men’s Basketball. A season ticket holder for decades, Edward was a faithful and visible basketball fan always seated no more than two rows behind the team bench.
His love of basketball included traveling each year (for 40 years) to a city hosting a round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Affectionately known as the “Boys of Spring,” Edward, Neil, Phil, and Steve, would celebrate their longtime friendship every March watching a weekend packed with college basketball.
A remembrance of Edward’s life would be incomplete without mentioning his love of Italian and French wines that he routinely shared with his family, friends, and Princeton Wine Group. Carefully curated bottles from Piedmont or Southern Rhone were routinely served with dinner he lovingly and meticulously prepared.
Ed is survived by his loving wife of 20 years, Jennifer Mullen; his children Peter Bergman and Amy Bergman Bonomi; his grandchildren Liza Bonomi, Celia Bonomi, Zora Bergman, and Nathaniel Bergman; Jane Shapiro, his former wife and the mother of his children; his niece Maggie Bergman and great-niece Maisie Bo; and many dear friends and colleagues.