Obituary of Miriam Klempner

COHOES—Miriam Stern Klempner, 90, of Schenectady, died peacefully at Eddy Village Green on Thursday, February 2. Miriam was born in the Bronx, NY on September 26, 1926. Her parents, the late Emanuel and Sylvia (Moslowitz) Stern owned a candy store in Queens. Her sister was Gertrude (Stern) Grossman. Miriam graduated from Grover Cleveland High School and earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Queens College, class of ‘47. After a period working as a laboratory technician, she was awarded the Master of Arts in Teacher Education. Miriam married Irving M. Klempner and they had two children, Diane and Mark. In 1967, Irving became a professor at SUNY-Albany and the family moved to the Capital District. Miriam undertook various teaching assignments during these years and earned a second master’s degree in reader education. Miriam felt deep compassion for the unfortunate; she gave generously to numerous charities and volunteered her time to instruct children, visit the lonely and feed the hungry. She yearned for the divine and experimented with many forms of spirituality. And Miriam loved art, both as a collector and creator. In more recent years, drawing became her passion and Miriam covered her walls with paintings of flowers, birds, stars and hearts. Irving passed in 2004; in the years that followed, Miriam’s health declined. She spent 2008 with her son Mark in Costa Rica. After 2009, she lived at Brookdale of Niskayuna, and moved to Eddy Village Green after her 90th birthday. Our family thanks the staff of these facilities for their kindness and care. Miriam is survived by her daughter, Diane Klempner of Niskayuna, NY, her son Mark Klempner of San Jose, Costa Rica, and two grandchildren, David and Michaela Klempner, also of Costa Rica. Relatives and friends are invited to attend her funeral service at 9:00 am on Friday,February 10, 2017 at Levine Memorial Chapel, 649 Washington Avenue, Albany.( PLEASE NOTE DAY AND TIME CHANGE OF FUNERAL) The burial will take place at the Temple Gates of Heaven Cemetery on Watt Street in Schenectady. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Miriam’s memory to Save the Children, 501 Kings Highway East - Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825 or The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, 30 North LaSalle St., Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60602-2584.