Obituary of Honora B. Rubenstein
(November 16, 1929-October 28, 2019). Predeceased by Murray, her loving husband of 63 years and by numerous close relatives and friends. Survived by her sons Jeffrey (Jacqueline) and Ronald (Andrea Torf); grandchildren Matthew (Julia Heneghan), Emily, Gavriel, and Adina; and nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
Honora was born to and raised by her loving Hungarian parents Geza (Jacob) and Fannie Burger in Manhattan, New York, where she helped out in her father’s store, enjoyed going on walks with her mother in Central Park, and graduated from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played the bassoon. She earned an A.B. in Music and Elementary School Education and a Masters in Special Education for the Physically Handicapped from Hunter College and spent the early days of her career working as a special education teacher in Clinton, NJ, and Brooklyn, NY.
Soon after earning her degrees, Honora, Murray, and her brother and his wife, Harold and Leona Burger, established Camp Jened, a summer overnight camp in Hunter, NY, for disabled children and adults. The camp was the first of its kind to offer programming for disabled adults, and it provided significant opportunities for new experiences and increased independence for all of its participants.
After 13 years, the couples turned the camp over to other directors, and Honora concentrated on raising her family and working at a Head Start program in Mt. Vernon, NY. When the family moved to New Hartford, NY, in 1971, Honora began a long association with the Utica-area United Cerebral Palsy organization (now Upstate Cerebral Palsy), where she taught and served as Head Teacher and eventual board member for many years.
Honora was a gracious, determined, kind, and strong woman whose work changed the lives of her campers and students and whose love and determination provided her own family with a bedrock of decency, compassion, and resolve.
The family would like to thank everyone who has lovingly helped her in recent years.
Funeral Services will be held on WEDNESDAY, October 30, 2019, at 10 AM in the All Seasons Chapel of White Haven Memorial Park, 210 Marsh Rd., in Pittsford. Click here for directions to the cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Jeffrey & Jacqueline Rubenstein on WEDNESDAY from 1-3 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Honora's memory to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, 255 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14604 [LINK].
