Helen S Kurzban's Obituary
Helen S Kurzban
April 29, 1930 – August 14, 2025
Helen S. Kurzban lived a long, full life of love, service, and learning. She was born on April 29, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents Rachel Schwartzman (née Anzek) and Benjamin (Ben-Zion) Schwartzman. She was educated in the public schools of New York City, with the good fortune to matriculate to the elite, all-women, Hunter High School. There, she acquired a love of learning, and the radical notion that women can and should do everything.
She married and raised two children while steadfastly continuing her education, ultimately earning her BA from Brooklyn College in 1959 and later her master’s degree. Helen went on to teach, serve as Chapter Chairman in the teachers’ union, and became an assistant principal and principal. She cared deeply for her students, remaining in touch with some for more than 60 years.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Helen was known for her warmth, curiosity, and sense of fun. She adored owls and built a collection of owl-themed treasures numbering in the hundreds. She loved games of all kinds — mahjong, bridge, scrabble, and many others — and she was always eager to learn something new. She also had a well-earned reputation for winning. She loved to travel and explored many parts of the world, including Israel, China, and Jordan. Helen was fiercely independent, charting her own path in life. She was learning and educating throughout her many retirement years. She fervently cared about her students, friends, and family, and urged all of us to grow and prosper.
Helen embodied both the immigrant experience and the American dream. Yiddish was her first language, and her love of Jewish history and culture endured throughout her life. In her memory, the family requests that donations be made to the Yiddish Book Center, which celebrates Yiddish literature and advances a fuller understanding of Jewish history, identity, and culture (Support.YiddishBookCenter.org).
She is survived by her loving sons, Steven Kurzban (Sandra) and Gary (Teresa Ruiz); grandchildren Jennifer, Joshua, Frederick (Natali), Daniela (Alex Wendling), Elisa (Igor Berman), and Benjamin; and great-grandchildren Edgar, Alanna (Wendling), and Arthur. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
A chapel service will be held on Monday, August 18, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Delray Beach Chapel, 5808 W. Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33484, followed by a 10:30 a.m. burial at Eternal Light Memorial Gardens, 11520 FL-7, Boynton Beach, FL 33473.
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