Obituary of Rita Feigenbaum
ALBANY – Rita Figarsky Feigenbaum of Loudonville, passed away at the age of 94 on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at Albany Medical Center after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She led a full and adventurous life.
She was the daughter of the late Joseph and Pearl Silberg Figarsky. Rita was predeceased by her sister, Jean Reiner, and her husbands Harold Feigenbaum and Kurt Landsberger. Rita was a graduate of the Milne School in 1942. She attended Skidmore College but left in her senior year when Harold returned from service in the Army Air Corps during World War II to be with him in Texas.
For the next 17 years, Rita was active in community and philanthropic affairs. This included service in various local and national positions in the National Council of Jewish Women and on the board the Albany Jewish Community Center. She also was instrumental in founding Senior Services of Albany, a joint project of the Council of Jewish Women and the Junior League. Rita also was a recognized artist and art teacher. She was a painter and sculptor, working in oils, marble, bronze and steel. Her work won awards in many juried exhibitions in the northeast.
In 1963, as her children were finishing high school, Rita returned to Skidmore and obtained her degree in 1964. She later obtained a Masters in Fine Arts degree from Union College, where she also taught studio and visual art. Union published her senior thesis, which was a complete catalogue of the college’s portraiture collection. Later in life, she wrote two more books dealing with American silver.
Thereafter, her career was in the museum field. She was the Assistant Curator of the Albany Institute of History and Art, and after Harold died, Rita moved to New York City, where she was the Registrar of the Jewish Museum for 15 years until retirement. She also curated the American silver collection of the noted Hartford collector, Philip Hammerslough. After her formal retirement, Rita became the ephemerist at the Florida Atlantic University Library for the Arthur and Mata Jaffe Collection.
After returning to Albany for a few years, Rita moved to Florida. It was there, in her 86th year, that she met Kurt Landsberger. They married and enjoyed happy years together until Kurt’s death in 2014. She subsequently returned to Albany to be closer to her family.
Rita is survived by her son Paul (Natalie) Feigenbaum, daughter Jean (William) Range, grandchildren David (Dana) Feigenbaum, Stephanie Feigenbaum and Emily Briare, and great-grandchildren Oliver Schoreck, Anna Sayre Feigenbaum and Hadley Rose Feigenbaum. She also is survived by her stepsons David and Allen (Diana Chrissis) Landsberger, who welcomed her warmly into their family, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. The family wishes to give special thanks to Rita’s niece, Jane Sanders, for her many kindnesses during Rita’s last few years.
Rita’s family also wishes to thank the staff and management of the Loudonville Assisted Living Residence, Rita’s home for the last years of her life, for the wonderful care they provided as Rita progressed through the disease that ultimately took her. The family also thanks Dr. Donna Heffernan and the medical staff on E-5 of the Albany Medical Center for the care given to Rita. Finally, many thanks to Mimi Toussaint, her longtime aide in Florida.
Those wishing to remember Rita may wish to donate to the Harold Feigenbaum Day Camp Scholarship Fund of the Albany Jewish Community Center, the Landsberger-Feigenbaum Fund for Jewish Education of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany or to the charity of their choice.
Burial will be private, and there will be no visiting hours. T
