The family of Michael Strumpen-Darrie announces his passing with sorrow. Michael died at home on March 3, 2021, in Princeton, NJ from complications of Alzheimer’s.
Michael grew up in Pelham and Larchmont in Westchester. He attended Iona High School, Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland and Ecole des Roches in France. He learned Italian, Spanish and Japanese in addition to French and German. He earned a BS in Languages at Georgetown University, a Masters in Business Administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters in Linguistics at the University of Michigan.
He began working at the, then family owned, Berlitz School of Languages when he was sixteen, working there for over 50 years. He led the development of new curriculum and programs in language instruction for a worldwide network of 300 language schools.
Michael met his wife Ann in a constitutional law class at Georgetown and their young college love lasted through over 55 years of marriage. They have two children: Christine Strumpen-Darrie and Beth Jackson (married to Mark Jackson) and grandchildren: Sophie Raglan, Francois Grinda, and Emma and Logan Jackson. Michael truly enjoyed his children and delighted in his grandchildren.
Michael was an accomplished athlete. He was a tennis champ in high school, a competitive water skier, beautiful snow skier, and an adventurous snowboarder. He also was very handy, maintaining many rental properties over the years.