Brandeis Magazine

Evelyn (Singer) Simha ’52, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, died on Jan. 1. She leaves her husband, Ovadia; her son, Saul; siblings Leonard, Nancy and David; and a grandchild. Edna Ann Katz ’53, of Dedham, Massachusetts, formerly of Keene, New Hampshire, a social worker and professor, died on Nov. 2. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College and a doctorate in education from Boston University in 1976. She was a member of the BU and Stony Brook faculties, and was the first social worker appointed to New Hampshire’s Board of Examiners of Psychologists to certify and license social workers. She leaves two nieces, two great-nieces and several cousins. Lila (Liebman) Stern ’54, P’86, of New York City, died on Nov. 6. She leaves her husband of 61 years, Burt; her children, Jill, Lori and Julie ’86; and two grandchildren. Barbara Rosecrance, MA’56, PhD’76, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a literary, legal and cultural scholar who taught at Cornell and UCLA, died of a brain infection on Oct. 3. She leaves her husband of 49 years, Richard, whom she first met in high school; and her children and stepchildren, Jane, Gail, Jill, Richard, Tom and Ann. Carol (Bell) Rainer ’57, P’84, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, a founder and organizer of the Northeast Arc, died on Nov. 5. She leaves her husband, Ronald ’55; children Lisa, Robert ’84 and Julie; and four grandchildren. Sanford Freedman ’58, of New York City, a real estate lawyer who served as the president of the Brandeis Alumni Association from 1967-69, died on Nov. 14. He served as a member of the Board of Fellows for nearly four decades. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Frances Perlman Freedman ’61; children Paul and Ellen; siblings Rebecca and Elliot; and five grandchildren. Rabbi Herman Savitz ’59, P’88, P’93, of West Caldwell, New Jersey, who served congregations in Massachusetts and New Jersey, died on Nov. 17. He began his rabbinic career as assistant rabbi at Temple Emeth in Brookline, Massachusetts, then served as rabbi at the Lake Hiawatha Jewish Center for 17 years. He was a hospital chaplain at a number of medical centers, ran bereavement groups and had a private practice in family counseling. He leaves his wife of 52 years, Renee, P’88, P’93; children Masha, Shoshana ’88, Gabriella and Joshua ’93; a brother, Joseph; and four grandchildren. Michael Sugarman, MA’59, of Schenectady, New York, who taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Skidmore and Union, and was the executive director of Albany County Opportunity Inc., died on Sept. 24. Michael was a member of the NAACP and a lifelong advocate for civil rights, registering voters in Mississippi in the early 1960s, and participating in the 1963 March on Washington and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. He leaves his former wife, Abigail; his sons, Daniel and Franz; his sister, Toni; and four grandchildren.