LOVELL R. OLENDER

  
LOVELL R. OLENDER   
Mrs. Lovell R. Olender, friend to many, philanthropist and patron of the arts, gently passed away Monday morning, July 21, 2014 in her and her husband Jack H. Olender's Washington home. They had observed their 52nd Wedding Anniversary the week before, July 15, 2014. The funeral was July 22, 2014. Upon graduating high school in West Virginia, Lovell Veronica Ruckman came to live in Washington, DC where she took college courses while working as secretary/administrative assistant at the Greater Washington Auto Dealers Association and then at Hill & Knowlton, the public relations firm. After marrying Jack Olender, a beginning lawyer, she helped him establish his own law practice and became an integral part of the firm's success. Mrs. Olender did substantial work for the firm, including bookkeeping and other administrative work, as well as public relations. She was a consistent presence with him at legal meetings, conventions and seminars around the country and around the world. When Jack H. Olender & Associates, P.C. was incorporated, Lovell Olender was Corporate Secretary.  Lovell Olender was culturally astute, with a love of the fine arts. She took singing lessons and dance instruction, especially ballet classes, with Russian-trained teachers and danced with the Metropolitan Ballet Company. In turn, she enjoyed teaching dance to local children - particularly ballet, as well as jazz and tap. When The Jack & Lovell Olender Foundation was incorporated, Lovell Olender was the Secretary and a Board Member. By the time of Lovell's demise, the Olender Foundation had held 27 annual awards events at venues such as the Kennedy Center. Mrs. Olender shared the stage with such luminaries as Muhammad Ali, Christopher Reeve, Dr. Dorthy Height, Larry King, Congressman John Lewis, Paul Berry, Buzz Aldrin and Denyce Graves, to name a few. Grants are made to the awardees' designated educational, social service, cultural, fine arts, and equal justice group, etc. Music is always a part of the program. Individually and through the Olender Foundation, Lovell Olender has helped provide educational and other opportunities to many children and young people with scholarships and grants to education and health institutions. Among honors she has received are the Unsung Hero Award of the Pigskin Club and the Advocate of Justice Award from the National Bar Association presented by attorneys Kim Keenan and Johnnie Cochran.  Lovell Olender's parents were Charles West Ruckman and Mildred Ruckman. Her survivors are niece Patricia Hutchens and her husband William Hutchens, both attorneys and lay ministers in West Virginia; her nephews Dan Ruckman and James Ruckman in West Virginia; her sister-in-law Racille Light and brother-in-law Eugene Light in Pittsburgh, PA; her niece Sharon Greenfield and husband Danny Greenfield in Pittsburgh, PA; her brother-in-law Lawrence Straus in Pittsburgh; her nephews Ken Straus in Massachusetts and Ira Straus in Arlington, VA; her sister-in-law Edith Sunstein and brother-in-law James Sunstein, in White Oak, PA; her niece Roberta Sunstein and nephew David Sunstein in White Oak, PA; her niece Susan Tanur Elman in Ohio; her nephew Harold Goldwasser and his wife Beverly in Pittsburgh; Rabbi Meir Goldwasser and his wife Rifka in Pittsburgh; Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser and his wife Hindy, in New York; and last, but certainly not least, her "Guardian Angels"- three wonderful caretakers who have been with her many years throughout her contention with Parkinson's Disease. These three ladies, "tres Senoras," led by Mirna Amaya with her sister Isobal Hernandez, and their cousin Ana Jesus' Amaya are largely responsible, along with excellent physicians, for the substantially good health and happiness their charge had for many years despite the ever progressing Parkinsons. They lavished "Lavelcita" with "amore." Mirna, Isobal and Ana Jesus' remain an important part of the Olender Family. LOVELL, MY ANGEL, MY LOVE, MAY GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, 2501 11th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001.