Felice M. Schrager

Felice M. Schrager, nee Bruckner, of Highland Park, NJ died on April 9, 2020. Born in Vienna, Austria, she was fourteen when she came to NY in 1939 with her mother to escape the Nazis. Her father, a lawyer for the insurance company Schenker International, perished in the holocaust. Upon arrival, she lived in Washington Heights and speaking little English was put into 4th grade. She quickly excelled and graduated high school in 3 years as the salutatorian. In 1944, she met and married Louis Schrager, also of Vienna, and they moved to New Brunswick, NJ in 1950 where Lou practiced optometry. Felice worked as the right hand person to Henry Peterson, owner of Feature Ring Company in NYC until the birth of her first child. In the mid 60's, she returned to school at Douglass College to pursue a BA in Political Science and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She continued at Rutgers earning a Master's Degree in American Government in the early 70's. Felice taught as an Adjunct Professor at Middlesex County College for several years and then went on to start her own travel business; she and Lou were avid world-travelers. She was active in many organizations and involved with many different groups throughout her life; the League of Women Voters, the Zimmerli Museum, the Bildner Center, JStreet, and the Women's League of Rutgers, where she served as 2nd Vice President for some 20 years. She held the distinction as a Lion of Judah for her significant contributions to the Jewish Federation. A long-time Bridge player, she became a Life Master in the ACBL at age 93. She and Lou were very active members at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple and were founders of Adult Continuing Education, the Torah Study group and myriad other programs over 50 plus years of membership. When the temple chose to expand their building, Felice became known for her formidable skills as a fund raiser helping to bring the dream to a reality. Almost ten years after Lou died (1994), she met her "second act", Maury Seisler, and they were together until he died in 2017. Felice is survived by her son, Larry Schrager and daughter-in-law, Rosella Sabatini and their son Matthew of Highland Park as well as by her daughter, Victoria Schrager and her partner Joshua Wanderer of Fair Lawn. Felice will be remembered for her critical intelligence and her persevering nature. She was never afraid to speak her mind and didn't believe there was a glass ceiling for women. Felice aged with grace and beauty, continuing to be current with new clothing and hair styles up until her death. She will be sorely missed by friend and family alike. Contributions can be made to: JStreet, League of Women Voters, Jewish Federation of NJ, Zimmerli Museum, Women's League of Rutgers University.