Hannah Hecht Barenbaum
In Memoriam
Hannah Hecht Barenbaum
passed away on June 12, 2011. Here is a copy of her obituary from the Montreal Gazette, which Lyn Deadman was kind enough to send:
b. 18/7/1947, d. 12/6/2011
Hannah Hecht Barenbaum 63 years old, died, surrounded by her family, after a courageous battle with cancer, on June 12, 2011. She was the beloved wife of Rabbi Michael Barenbaum for 42 years; mother of Naomi and Robert Leonard and Daniel and Michelle Barenbaum; grandmother of Sadie and Simon Leonard and Emma, Samuel, and Henry Barenbaum; sister-in-life of Rhona and Harvey Weinstein; beloved cousin and friend; and daughter of the late Benno and Hedy Hecht. Hannah was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada-a place that continued to define her; lived for several years with her husband and children in and around Boston, Massachusetts; and settled in Tiburon, California 35 years ago. While Hannah was active in the Marin Jewish Community and had a thriving psychotherapy practice, she was defined first and foremost by her love for, and dedication to, her family. She was a true partner to Michael, and nothing gave her greater pleasure than being surrounded by her children and grandchildren, who will miss her warmth and presence greatly. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, June 15th, at 12 noon at Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael, CA. Donations can be made in Hannah's memory to Congregation Rodef Sholom as well as the John Chan Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (care of UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, 1600 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94115) and Dr. Charles Levenback's Gynecological Oncology Research Fund (care of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mays Clinic, 1220 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030), both of which support the work of the doctors and teams who provided such compassionate comfort and care to Hannah. Service entrusted to Mt Tamalpais Mortuary, San Rafael. (415) 459-2500.
Here's another obituary we found for Hannah, from The Ark Newspaper, a Tiburon, California publication: http://www.thearknewspaper.com/obits/obit_barenbaum.html. The Ark's obituary included the photo at the top of this page and some more information about Hannah.
Hannah Barenbaum
Hannah Hecht Barenbaum, a longtime Tiburon resident and wife of Congregation Rodef Shalom rabbi Michael Barenbaum, died June 12, 2011, of her battle with ovarian cancer. She was 63.
Mrs. Barenbaum was born and raised in Montreal, the daughter of Benno and Hedy Hecht and returned there many times a year to visit her mother and family. She graduated from Mount Royal High School and earned her bachelor's degree at McGill University. She received a master's degree in social work from Ohio State University in 1970.
She met her husband at summer camp when they were both counselors. They were married in 1968 after a long-distance courtship of one year.
The Barenbaums lived in the Greater Boston area for about seven years, a good part of that time in Brookline, where he was rabbi at Temple Ohabei Shalom. When he moved to Temple Sinai in Worcester, Massachusetts, Mrs. Barenbaum helped create a multiservice senior center. They moved to the Bay Area in 1977 when he became rabbi of Rodef Shalom, and they bought a house in Tiburon in 1979.
Mrs. Barenbaum had a thriving psychotherapy practice in Marin and then San Francisco, and she was active in the Marin Jewish community, especially as hostess of many of the events at the temple. Her husband retired in 2003 and became rabbi emeritus.
Mrs. Barenbaum was very sentimental and attached to her history, and nothing gave her greater pleasure than being surrounded by her children and grandchildren, her family said.
She is survived by her husband of 42 years; two children, Naomi Leonard of Tiburon and Daniel Barenbaum of Mill Valley; five grandchildren, Sadie and Simon Leonard, and Emma, Samuel, and Henry Barenbaum; and her cousin and "sister-in-life," Rhona Weinstein of Berkeley.
A memorial service has been held. She was buried at Mt. Tamalpais Mortuary in San Rafael. Donations in her memory may be sent to Congregation Rodef Shalom, 170 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael, CA 94901; the John Chan Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, c/o UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, 1600 Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA 94115; or to Gynecological Oncology Research Fund, c/o Dr. Charles Levenback, Mays Clinic, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1220 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030.
In December 2009, Hannah kindly sent us this short bio :
I live in Tiburon, in northern California. I have been married to Michael Barenbaum for 40 years. Michael is retired now. He is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Rodef Sholom, in nearby San Raphael. I, on the other hand, have not retired yet. I received a Masters degree in Social Work, am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and I have a psychotherapy practice in San Francisco.
We have two children, Daniel, 37, and Naomi, 34. Both are married and living in the area. We are proud grandparents, with 5 grandchildren.
Here is an interesting story about Michael and Hannah from about 2003. The full article is at http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/19046/rabbi-bids-farewell-to-rodef-sholom-but-not-to-tikkun-olam/:
Ask Rabbi Michael Barenbaum about his favorite accomplishments over the past quarter century and he may tell you the story of the display aisle at Petrini's.
The tale began shortly after Barenbaum took the reins in 1977 as the spiritual head of San Rafael's Congregation Rodef Sholom. That first spring, his wife, Hannah, went shopping for Pesach [Passover], and found next to nothing for the holiday on the shelves of the old Petrini's market in Greenbrae.
"All they had was some random matzah" recalls Barenbaum, who is preparing to retire next June from the Reform synagogue. He says his wife was forced that year to drive into San Francisco for groceries.
The next year, Hannah Barenbaum returned to Petrini's and discovered a surprisingly well-stocked display of Passover items.
The rabbi's wife was so pleased that she approached the manager to thank him. It was no big deal, the manager shrugged. The switch was driven by pure supply-and-demand forces.
"He said, 'You know, there's a new rabbi in town and everyone wants to celebrate Passover,'" recalls Barenbaum.
"That was nice," he says, pausing to soak in the memory. "She just couldn't wait to get home and tell me the story."