Sidney Poritz of Leverett passed away peacefully at the age of 86 on September 29th, 2024 with his beloved family at his side.

The son of Joseph and Sarah (Shapiro) Poritz, Sidney was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1938 of parents who emigrated from Lithuania in 1930. After his father died in 1944, his mother and her five children relocated to Fall River, Massachusetts in 1948.

Upon completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Sidney taught sculpture and design at Skidmore College, UMASS and at the Metropolitan, Whitney, and Brooklyn art museums.

In 1985, he acquired a secluded, wooded hillside in Leverett, which he believed had once been home to Native Americans prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 18th century. His vision was to integrate designs harmoniously with the natural landscape, building homes that echoed the colonial period. From the forest, he crafted Laurel Hill—a private 180-acre mountain estate, now home to some of New England’s most magnificent residences.

Sidney, an avid tennis player and the Massachusetts State Champion of 1956, continued his game until his final days. In addition to his love of the sport, he also built 52 classic clay courts throughout New England, bringing tremendous joy to those who experienced playing whileist immersed in nature.

He served on the Leverett Planning Commission for fourteen years and was a trustee of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Sidney remained active until the very end – most recently the President of Friends of the North Leverett Sawmill, a venture to rehabilitate a historic mill built in the 1770s and transform it into a living history and technology museum.

He is survived by his former wife, Janet Strauss; his children, Rachel, Aaron and David; his five grandchildren, Emmanuelle, Isadora, Simone, Una and Jack; his siblings, Bernard, Lily and Dorothy as well as his niece and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister Olga Zabudloff. 

A Celebration of Life will take place in early spring.

Those who wish to make a donation in his honor may provide a gift to Friends of the North Leverett Sawmill or the Yiddish Book Center

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com