Marcia and Josh: New Bethlehem Neighbors and BHC Members
Marcia Okun and Josh Lieberman are new members of BHC, and they’re new to Bethlehem as well. They knew they wanted to live in the mountains in retirement as they’d been coming up to Franconia for 40 years. There, a resourceful college friend had built a rustic cabin (as in, no plumbing) which Marcia and Josh had used for hiking and both Nordic and downhill skiing all these years. When they became parents, the couple introduced their three children to the same activities they loved. Today, all three are also avid active outdoors people and each chose to live near mountains.
Just as big a draw to the area was the presence of one of those children, their daughter, who is a teacher in Lisbon. The couple drove about considering various places they might live in the vicinity. They quickly realized, Josh said, “Bethlehem is actually in the center of everything North Country.” Cannon Mountain is in one direction, Bretton Woods is in the other direction, while Littleton is just above. A little over a year ago, when the right property in town became available, they made the leap.
Their daughter had also mentioned there was a Jewish presence in Bethlehem, which added to the town’s appeal for them. After they moved in, they decided to take a drive to explore the town. They came upon the Orthodox shul and were taken aback – this wasn’t what they were looking for. Soon, they located Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation, a happy discovery. It amazed them that there could be two options for Jewish worship in such a tiny town.
Marcia retired from teaching history in high school in June 2023. She attended the University of Chicago and received a PhD in archeology from the University of London. When she returned to the US, she learned the criteria for teaching archeology were different here, and this limited her career options. In the end, she decided to teach history at the high school level, a schedule that worked out well for her as she raised her children.
Josh is “mostly retired” as of the end of September, except for some projects that haven’t finished. He’s a geospatial mapping consultant. This largely entails working with computer databases. He was employed by a consortium that develops sharing standards for data that’s used to express geography. He explained that by creating consistency in standards, it becomes possible for cities, industries, etc. to share information. Josh went to Dartmouth and did his graduate work in Washington and Oregon.
Josh was doing a post-doc at the University of Bern in Switzerland when he met Marcia, who had recently completed her studies in London. Each had one parent who sometimes worked professionally with the other and had expressed to each other that they hoped their child would marry “a good Jewish person.” In time, Josh’s parents visited London, and Josh came from Bern to see them. Marcia came to their hotel to pick up a package her parents had given Josh’s parents to deliver. The Liebermans invited Marcia to dinner to meet their son. As a poor, recently doctored “alien” working at McDonalds, Marcia welcomed the free meal, unaware that the dinner would shape her future.
After their relationship took off, Marcia moved to Switzerland, and in 1991, the couple married (the wedding was in the US). From Switzerland, they moved to Israel so Josh could do a second post-doc. They lived in Jerusalem for about a year. Although Marcia expressed how glad they were to have had the experience of living in Israel, they decided not to make aliyah. For one thing, it was difficult to make ends meet. Also, they now had a young child but were a long way from most of their family. In 1992, they returned to the States.
When asked how it feels to be newly retired, Josh joked, “We’re flailing around in the dark.” “We’re still unpacking boxes,” Marcia added. For 27 years, they lived and raised their children in Newton, MA. Now, they live in a North Country home with 20 acres. They’re looking forward to “homesteading,” using wood for some of their heating, setting up a woodworking shop in the basement.
Marcia is an enthusiastic (and very modest, Josh insists) baker. They both love music. Josh plays the fiddle and other string instruments. He particularly enjoys Irish and Celtic music. He’s hoping to get over to North Conway, where there’s a seisun that plays these tunes at one of the pubs. Marcia plays the piano, the ukulele and the tin whistle (her first Celtic instrument).
In addition to skiing and hiking, the two enjoy biking. As he has for many years, Josh continues to climb various cliff faces with his friends. It appears the couple love animals, for they had one cat and just adopted two more. Although Marcia is getting involved with animal rescue, she says it will be at least a year before a dog roams their 20 acres.