Amherst, Barbara Louise (Diehl) Weidenfeld passed away peacefully last Sunday February 19th, 2013 at the age of 88 at the Overlook Nursing home in Leeds, Massachusetts. She was born in New York City, December 1^st, 1924 to Irene Dornfeld (Diehl) and Frederick Brereton Diehl. She leaves behind her husband Jerome Weidenfeld of 54 years, a resident of Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton, MA., and three sons Robert Foster Weidenfeld (Davis, California), David Jonathan Weidenfeld (Easthampton, MA) and Mark ‘Moshe’ Weidenfeld (Brooklyn, New York) and their respective spouses. She also leaves behind four lovely grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and an extensive circle of friends.

Lady Barbara (as she was known by some) graduated from Washington Irving High School in NYC and later attended Park College in Missouri. She studied music composition at Juliard Night School, played piano, guitar and possessed  the ‘voice of an angel‘. 

After enlisting in the WAVES (Woman Accepted in Volunteer Emergency Service) where she served as a Link Training Instructor during World War II.

She attended and received a BA in English from Columbia Teachers College, New York City. In her long life, Barbara held a variety of interesting positions including working as an editor for the College Board.  She also worked in special education and as an ESL (English as a Second Language) instructor and homemaker. She had a love and knowledge of music, nature and literature. Both she and her husband Jerome were active in causes of social justice including civil rights, antiwar activities and environmental concerns. She and Jerome were members of the Jewish Community of Amherst and Barbara was a member of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

She was laid to rest this past Tuesday February 21st at the Jewish Community of Amherst, Cemetery in Shutesbury, MA. Any donations in Barbara’s memory should be made to the: Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) and/or Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

 

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.