Obituary of Ellen Handler

Ellen Oppenheimer Handler, 86, died on Jan. 6 at the home of her son Harry and daughter-in-law Cindy in Upper Montclair. A shiva service conducted by Rabbi Steven Kushner of Temple Ner Tamid was held there on January 10. Handler was born in Berlin, Germany, on July 2, 1929, three weeks after the birth of Anne Frank. Like Frank, she fled the Nazis with her family to Holland. They then continued on to London and New York; during the cross-Atlantic journey, her convoy was torpedoed. She thrived in her new country, overcoming discrimination against German natives and succeeding academically, first at Vassar College, then the University of Chicago and finally at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she obtained her PhD in Sociology. During her half-century in the Midwest, she taught sociology at the University of Illinois, worked in the field of artificial intelligence, and in professional development for the U. of I.’s chemistry department. While doing so, she raised three children to love mountain-climbing, hiking, skiing and reading. She relocated to Winchester Gardens in Maplewood in 2002, four years after her husband Paul’s death. Never one to embrace the concept of “retirement,” she served as president of ORANJ, the Organization of Retirement Associations of New Jersey. In 2014, she moved to Crane’s Mill, where she attended planning meetings, and edited the ORANJ newsletter. To the end, she was a voracious reader of non-fiction, devoured the Wall Street Journal and the Economist, and could hold her own with anyone on current events and world affairs. She was predeceased by her parents, Fritz and Elsbeth Oppenheimer; her siblings, Margaret and Ernest Oppenheimer; and her beloved husband, Paul Handler. Her lively intellect and wit will be missed by her three children, Ira Handler, of Sleepy Hollow, New York; Harry Handler, of Upper Montclair; and Lily Golden, of Houston, Texas; their spouses, Cindy Handler, Mary Ann Baiyor and Brian Rhodes, respectively; her grandchildren, Joshua, Amalia and Katya Handler, Ted, Jay and Selena Handler, and Haley and Blair Golden; and her nieces, Juliana and Tanya Oppenheimer. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to Compassion and Choices, www.compassionandchoices.org. Ellen Oppenheimer Handler, 86, died on Jan. 6 at the home of her son Harry and daughter-in-law Cindy in Upper Montclair. A shiva service conducted by Rabbi Steven Kushner of Temple Ner Tamid was held there on January 10. Handler was born in Berlin, Germany, on July 2, 1929, three weeks after the birth of Anne Frank. Like Frank, she fled the Nazis with her family to Holland. They then continued on to London and New York; during the cross-Atlantic journey, her convoy was torpedoed. She thrived in her new country, overcoming discrimination against German natives and succeeding academically, first at Vassar College, then the University of Chicago and finally at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she obtained her PhD in Sociology. During her half-century in the Midwest, she taught sociology at the University of Illinois, worked in the field of artificial intelligence, and in professional development for the U. of I.’s chemistry department. While doing so, she raised three children to love mountain-climbing, hiking, skiing and reading. She relocated to Winchester Gardens in Maplewood in 2002, four years after her husband Paul’s death. Never one to embrace the concept of “retirement,” she served as president of ORANJ, the Organization of Retirement Associations of New Jersey. In 2014, she moved to Crane’s Mill, where she attended planning meetings, and edited the ORANJ newsletter. To the end, she was a voracious reader of non-fiction, devoured the Wall Street Journal and the Economist, and could hold her own with anyone on current events and world affairs. She was predeceased by her parents, Fritz and Elsbeth Oppenheimer; her siblings, Margaret and Ernest Oppenheimer; and her beloved husband, Paul Handler. Her lively intellect and wit will be missed by her three children, Ira Handler, of Sleepy Hollow, New York; Harry Handler, of Upper Montclair; and Lily Golden, of Houston, Texas; their spouses, Cindy Handler, Mary Ann Baiyor and Brian Rhodes, respectively; her grandchildren, Joshua, Amalia and Katya Handler, Ted, Jay and Selena Handler, and Haley and Blair Golden; and her nieces, Juliana and Tanya Oppenheimer. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to Compassion and Choices, www.compassionandchoices.org.