Obituary of Dorothy Nissenbaum

Guilderland, New York Dorothy Nissenbaum, 89, died peacefully in her sleep on March 24th, 2015. Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband , Irving Nissenbaum, in 1970. She is survived by her children, Mark Nissenbaum and his wife Kathie White, Lisa Nissenbaum and her husband Ken Jacobs, Nora Rushford and her husband Michael Carter, and six grandchildren, Isaac, Joanna, Ethan, Daniel, Anna and Molly. Dorothy was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, surrounded by a loving family who supported her on her journey to become a loving, wise, resourceful, and resilient woman. Dorothy’s marriage to Irving at the age of 17 led her to the south, to the west coast, and eventually to Pennsylvania where she would happily settle for most of the remainder of her long and industrious life. During her marriage, she was able to pursue her love of music, to become actively involved in civil rights causes, and to support the efforts of Planned Parenthood. At the age of 45, Dorothy tragically lost the love of her life. Her pursuits following Irving’s death led her in the only direction that made sense; to help others less fortunate. She would undoubtedly say that with the exception of her three children, her greatest achievement in life was the founding and running of the Reading Advancement Project (RAP), created in partnership with the Reading, PA school district. RAP offered high school students who were deemed incapable of succeeding in a typical setting an opportunity to acquire a high school education and marketable skills. Following her retirement at the age of 68, Dorothy continued her work by volunteering with adult literacy programs. Dorothy’s family would like to thank the staff and residents of Atria Guilderland for welcoming her back to the state of New York, and for taking such wonderful care of her. A memorial for Dorothy will be held at Levine Memorial Chapel, 649 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12206 at 1:00 pm on Sunday, March 29, 2015. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Settlement Music School to Helen S. Eaton, Executive Director, Settlement Music School, PO Bo 63966, Philadelphia, PA 19147-3966