Eisenberg Ruth

Ruth Phyllis Eisenberg Ruth Phyllis Eisenberg, 83, of Charlottesville, Virginia, died on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, surrounded by her loving children. She was the daughter of Nettie Goodman Bennett and Harry Bennett. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Eisenberg. Phyllis, always known by her middle name, was born in 1930, in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and grew up in Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from Weequahic High School and Rutgers University in Newark, with a concentration in English Literature. She received a Masters in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked almost 20 years as a reference and head librarian at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Prior to receiving her Masters, she worked at the Environmental Sciences Library at the University of Virginia. She loved being a librarian in a community college setting. Her interaction with students is what she missed the most upon retirement from PVCC. She was often recognized by former PVCC students around town and by many of the medical staff at WCBR. At PVCC, she was recognized for pioneering bibliographic instruction and for instituting computerized index search in the Betty Sue Jessup Library. She included cultural events in her definition of a community college library and ran the "Window Series" there for several years which included lectures and concerts by local authors, musicians, artists, and community leaders. Phyllis was long active in the UVA Faculty Wives Book Club and the Gourmet Club. She enjoyed reading, going to art museums, painting, writing, traveling, and attending opera and classical concerts in Charlottesville and New York City. Phyllis and her husband, Ralph, made Charlottesville their home in 1960. Her high school sweetheart and husband, Ralph, was a professor in the Government Department, an assistant Director of the Institute of Government, and later an Assistant Provost at the University of Virginia until his death in 1973. Both Phyllis and Ralph were involved in the UVA and the Charlottesville communities over the years. They were very active in Beth Israel Synagogue and the local Democratic Party. They enjoyed their adopted state of Virginia. Phyllis is most remembered by family for her kindness and respect of others, and for her love and for her support of her husband, two children, and most of all of her five grandchildren. She loved being a grandmother. Phyllis Eisenberg is survived by her daughter, Andrea Eisenberg and her husband, James Bryan, of Yorktown Heights, New York; her son, Jay Eisenberg and his wife, Carrie, of Earlysville, Virginia; five grandchildren, Jessica Bryan of Beacon, New York, Lily Bryan of Alexandria, Virginia, and Lydia, Benjamin, and Lucy Eisenberg of Earlysville, Virginia; her brothers, Abraham Bennett of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Marcus Bennett of Clearwater, Florida. The family thanks our community of friends and relatives for all their support. The family has long appreciated the respectful and dignified care given to our mother Phyllis by all the medical and nonmedical staff at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge. Their genuine love and care has been a great support during very difficult times. A funeral service was held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 12, 2013, at Hill and Wood Funeral Home, with burial at Hebrew Cemetery. A reception was held at 3 p.m. at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge in the Monticello Room. In lieu of flowers, the family ask that memorial contributions be made to the Employee Education Fund, WCBR Foundation, 250 Pantops Mountain Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911 or online at westminstercanterbury.org/foundation-home.