Remembering Tom Behnke

By Brittany Aufiero

It is with great sadness that The Meridian announces the passing of Thomas “Tom” Behnke, who died of a heart attack at the age of 59 on Aug. 10. A talented writer and poet, Tom was the former Editor-in-Chief of The Meridian, involved in several student organizations on campus, and was a cherished member of the Lehman community.

Tom was born Feb. 9, 1963 and graduated summa cum laude from Lehman this past May with his Bachelor’s in Honors English, specializing in creative writing. Tom had a strong passion for the arts and humanities, which led him to become heavily involved with the student publications on campus.  He became a regularly contributing staff writer for The Meridian in Sept. 2017, and served as the News Section Editor for the paper for over a year.  In 2018, he was elected Editor-in-Chief of the paper before stepping down to prioritize his studies and continue honing his talents as a creative writer. In Aug. 2022, Tom joined Obscura, the literary and arts magazine of Lehman College, as an intern and stayed on as a student editor until he graduated.

Tom (center) with friends Yenick Gonzalez, Rafiana Martinez, and Jasmine Gonzalez at Lehman College’s 54th Annual Commencement on May 26, 2022, celebrating the Class of 2022.

Prior to beginning his studies at Lehman, Tom had poetry and essays published in small press magazines including Talebones, Connections, and Gathering Darkness, as well as a story published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude.  His poems “Lightning,” “Orphan,” “Lull: A Bye, and “Love and Numbers” were featured in Volume 11 of Obscura in Spring 2020.  He often performed his poetry at Obscura’s semi-annual open mic nights.  Tom’s play, Volts and Ohms, was showcased at Lehman’s Studio Theater in the 9th annual New Voices: The Student Playwriting Festival, which ran from Oct. 27 - 31, 2021.  At the time of his death, Tom had been working on a screenplay and had plans to continue developing his English Honors Thesis project “Saying Goodbye” into a full-length novel.  He had hoped to pursue his MFA in creative writing.

Not only did Tom strive to improve his own writing abilities, but those of his peers as well.  In Sept. 2021, Tom was hired as a writing tutor for Lehman’s Tutoring Center (LTC) through the Instructional Support Services Program (ISSP).  In this role, he worked one-on-one with students to assist them with their papers and other class assignments. 

Tom was a cornerstone of the Lehman community who made a strong, positive impact on everyone who met him.  He was quick-witted, kind, generous, encouraging, and supportive to his classmates.  He loved dogs, art, cooking, baking, and playing bass. 

 On Friday, Aug. 26, Tom’s friends and faculty gathered for a potluck memorial at Van Cortlandt Park to celebrate his life and legacy.

Lehman College English Honors Awards Ceremony 2021 — recorded by Tom Behnke

In Memorium

I had the great luck to first meet Tom in spring of 2021 as a student in my Playwriting class. Tom was a warm, gentle, and funny human, and an incredibly gifted and generous writer. Although playwriting was a new form for him, he quickly became passionate about the craft, and by the end of that semester, he’d finished the first draft of a hauntingly lovely short play. Tom’s, Volts and Ohms, would go on to be workshopped and produced under my direction, for Lehman’s 2021 New Voices Student Playwriting Festival. A talented fiction writer, Tom had a unique gift for creating finely observed characters, who lingered in the imaginations of their audience long after the lights dimmed. He was truly a natural. At the end of Volts and Ohms, the main character Lizzette stands alone in the dark, gazing skyward from the yard of an upstate home, waiting for an unlikely glimpse of the Aurora Borealis. In the final minutes of his play, Tom gives them to her, and also to us, so that we might walk out into our own nights, a little more open to hope, and beauty. I so wish he’d had more time. He had so much more to give. 

— Professor Stephanie Stowe, Lecturer 

Department of Music, Multimedia, Theater, and Dance, Lehman College

I had the privilege of meeting and working with Mr. Thomas Behnke when he was Editor in Chief of Lehman College's Newspaper, The Meridian, which I had joined on Spring 2018. 

I can still remember the first edits I received from him on April 4, 2018. A month later, during a meeting he announced he would cede his role to another interested editor, as he needed to focus in his studies. He was happy and encouraged fellow editor Shaiann Frazier, and she then took the lead. His words inspired me to pursue a section editor role. I doubted myself at first, but when hearing him I thought to myself, if he can believe in me, then I should go on; and so I became News Editor that year. 

I learned so much from him in that little time we worked together, and he was so supportive of everyone in the paper, even when no longer working there. I would always run into him in Carman Hall and recall him being so pleasant, kind, and funny at all times. I probably had the least interactions with him compared to much people at Lehman, but I will always treasure these memories.

May his soul rest in peace, and might his family and loved ones receive comfort. 

— Perla Tolentino, Lehman Alumna

Tom joined ISSP as a writing tutor a year ago. I am still shocked and sad this was the end of the road for him.  He was tutoring for us this summer and had just purchased a new laptop: after graduating, he was determined to keep writing, and last I heard had a screenplay underway. 

Tom was a kind and generous tutor whose insights and intuitions about his fellow students' writing were always astute.  But Tom of course was much more than a tutor; he was part of many communities on this campus, especially in the arts.  

I hired Tom during the pandemic.  He worked online, and I never met him outside the frame of a Zoom or Blackboard screen. But he had a large presence and I feel as if we've met in person.  I'll remember especially his voice and laugh, his quick wit and his empathy.

— Lisa Estreich, Writing and Literacy Coordinator

Lehman Tutoring Center (LTC), Lehman College 

I had the privilege of teaching Tom when he enrolled as an undergraduate in my graduate writing workshop last fall. He not only held his own in the class, but he also emerged as one its most intelligent, generous, and perspicacious voices.

- Professor Allison Amend

English Department, Lehman College