Eva Linder

Our mother, Eva Linder, passed away on March 14, 2022.  The three of us, and everyone else who was fortunate enough to count Mom a relative or a friend, lost a woman of unfailing kindness and generosity and a font of silly jokes, good advice, and steadfast support.

Mom was born in Jaruco, Cuba in 1934 to Rosa and Sroul Feldman, who were trying to emigrate to the United States after fleeing persecution in Russia.  Three years later, Mom, her parents, brother Daniel and sisters Cila and Mera moved to Puerto Rico.  Mom cherished all her memories of growing up near San Juan, but one stood out:  her pet rooster, Juanito, waiting for her to come home from school and then sitting on her lap while she practiced piano.  Even though Mom left Puerto Rico at age 13, it remained part of her, and she passed on to us a lifelong love for the island and its people.  We enjoyed many winter vacations there, ate seconds and thirds of Mom's incomparable arroz con pollo, and developed an addiction to platanos that she wholeheartedly encouraged.

Mom's family relocated to Brooklyn in 1947, and it was there that she finished high school, began attending NYU, and eventually met her future husband.  Mom and Dad married in 1955 and subsequently moved to Wantagh, on the south shore of Long Island.

While raising the three of us with constant love, support, and patience, Mom completed her college degree and worked at BOCES (which served children with developmental disabilities) and in the New York City school system.   Our family life included countless rounds of Boggle (Mom's favorite game), yearly trips to visit her parents back in Puerto Rico, and above everything else, Mom's special combination of availability, understanding, and willingness to let us go our own ways.

After the three of us left home, Mom and Dad traveled widely on every continent except Antarctica.  They brought us, and later their grandchildren as well, on many of these trips, reveling in the chance to visit the Mediterranean, Hawaii, the Caribbean and elsewhere surrounded by their family.

Especially after Dad retired and our parents moved to Florida, they were as likely to be on a cruise ship as to be home.  Mom sought every opportunity to meet the people living in the countries she visited, and her warmth broke through any language barrier.  In Africa she was invited by a tribal elder to participate in a ritual dance, an invitation she gleefully accepted.

Mom and Dad were married for nearly 61 years.  Shortly after Dad passed in 2016, Mom moved to Brightview West End, where she found not only a caring community but probably the best friend she had ever made, Renee Weissberg.  Mom's years at Brightview were among the happiest of her life.

Mom loved dancing, joking, and eating dessert.  To celebrate her life, put on some salsa music, tell a silly joke, and have a big bowl of ice cream – rocky road was her favorite, but she wouldn't decline any flavor you might choose.

Mom is survived by her children, Jeff (Sandy), Eric, and Elise (Eric); her grandchildren, Adam (Jen), Andrea (Eli), Ryan, Sarah, and Matthew; several nieces and nephews; and various grand-dogs and grand-cats (whom she considered her own).

If you would like to make a memorial gift to the charity of your choice, please do so.