Adele Monderer Alpert Leff

Adele was born in New York City in 1924. She passed away in Bethesda Maryland on April 4, 2026, at the age of 101.
Adele Monderer was raised in Manhattan, NY and graduated in 1945 with a degree in Business Administration and Education from the City College of New York. She married Morris (Mickey) Alpert in 1948 and moved to Washington, DC, and later to Silver Spring Maryland. After Mickey's passing in 1968, Adele went to work for the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, where she rose through the ranks, managing grants for large NIH-funded cancer centers. She ultimately became Deputy to the Branch Chief and in 1991 she was honored with the NIH Award of Merit.
Adele was the beloved mother of two daughters, Susan Alpert Galel and Judy Alpert Kaye (husband Don). In 1972 Adele married Sam Leff, expanding her family to include daughter Deborah Leff, son Mark Leff (deceased) and Mark's wife Carol. Sam passed away in 2002. Through the combined Alpert and Leff families, Adele was the proud grandmother of eight and proud great grandmother to sixteen great grandchildren. She maintained strong connections with nieces, nephews, and cousins throughout the US and greatly enjoyed their calls and visits.
Adele was known to maintain strong relationships with friends. When Susan and Judy were infants, she established a book club with other college-educated mothers who were raising their children. This book club met regularly for more than 60 years and was a great source of friendship and support as well as intellectual stimulation. When it came time for Adele to move to a retirement community, she chose to go to Maplewood Park Place in Bethesda where she was able to join several of her book club friends. She enjoyed a satisfying life at Maplewood for 15 years, where she was fully engaged in the community, sharing her business expertise through leadership positions on the budget committee and the coop board of directors.
Adele's favorite hobbies included making silver jewelry and traveling. She was remarkably tech savvy and used her computer, iPhone, and iPad until her poor eyesight led her to need assistance.
A family graveside funeral service has been held and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Her family encourages you to make a contribution in her memory to a non-profit organization of your choice.