ELGA R. WASSERMAN

1924 - 2014

BORN

1924

DIED

2014

About

Harvard University Smith College Yale University

ELGA WASSERMAN Obituary

WASSERMAN, Elga R. Of Lexington, formerly of New Haven, CT, November 11, 2014. Predeceased by beloved husband Harry and brother Andor Steinherz. Survived by children, Daniel (Christine Chinlund), Diana (John Glazer), and Steven (Gabriele Wienhausen), grandchildren: Anika, Samuel, Aaron, Sophie, Noah, Lisa Glazer (Christopher Vecsey), Rebecca Glazer and one great-grandchild, Ellaria Vecsey. Born June 30, 1924, in Berlin, Germany, Elga immigrated to the United States as a teen. She graduated from Great Neck High School and summa cum laude from Smith College, earned a PhD in Chemistry in 1949 from Harvard University followed by a Juris Doctor from Yale University in 1976. She clerked in the US Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit for the Honorable Judge J. Joseph Smith. In 1969 Elga was Special Assistant to the President of Yale on the Education of Woman and oversaw the coeducation of the University. Her varied career also included teaching, university administration, law practice and writing. In 2000, The National Academy of Sciences published and disseminated her book, The Door in the Dream, a study on the lives and careers of eminent women members of the academy. Elga was a scientist, attorney, author, feminist, and political activist. She relished classical music, flea markets, and less-traveled roads around the world. Although she retired in 2006 to Lexington and Wellfleet, MA, Elga continued to be active in civic and political affairs. The recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including an American Association of University Women Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Grant, she leaves a community of scholars, friends and family. A celebration of Elga's life will be held in early 2015. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood or VNA Hospice Care of Woburn.

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Published by Boston Globe from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for ELGA WASSERMAN

10 Entries

Ruth Jarmul

November 30, 2014

I am forever in Elga's debt for admitting me to Yale in 1969.
I worked closely with her on the Committee on Coeducation, and she was a true mentor, protector and proponent for the women students at a time when we were very few in a very male dominated institution. I found out after I was admitted to Yale that she had known my mother, who was almost exactly her age, in Berlin; they went to the same Jewish primary school after the Nazis came to power, and I reintroduced them at a Yale event after I graduated. My Mom also was a great proponent of hospice care and Planned Parenthood so I am making a contribution to Planned Parenthood in both their memories. Elga was a wonderful woman, and Yale would not be the same today without her leadership at a critical time for the university.

Jeanne Devine

November 23, 2014

Thanks to be Elga for her tireless advocacy and her creation of a welcoming climate for those of us who came to Yale College in 1969.

Kristina Bieker-Brady

November 19, 2014

In the mid-90's Elga and I had some wonderful talks on the Mattapan trolley through Milton and on the Ashmont T. We talked about women, and science, and all the complexities of being a full person in the mix of all of that. I was in my 30's, and torn about my scientific career, theoretical kids (now 9 and 13!), and doing it all while married to an academic scientist. She was like a fairy godmother (with all the experience and wisdom born of big successes and little crashes) who dropped in out of nowhere to give me the most wonderful, nonjudgmental, advice at the most critical of times. She probably only took the trolley when visiting Dan and Chris, but it always seemed fortuitous. We had not spoken for many years, but in my memories it was a series of magical coincidences. I suspect I am among hundreds who have similar stories that could be told.

Connie Royster

November 15, 2014

Forever indebted to Elga for her care, compassion, and love for, and her fierce advocacy on behalf of each one of us young women who arrived at Yale in 1969 -- 45 years ago this fall.

November 14, 2014

Dear Diana, Dan and Steve: I do not need to tell you how much Elga meant to me, and to Stan, and to so many of us in New Haven. She was the most patient mentor, the wisest and most perceptive law colleague and the truest friend. I feel very blessed to have had her in my life. Each person I have told of her passing, has expressed admiration and a true sense of loss. We loved her, and Harry, very much. Bobbi and Stan Friedman

November 13, 2014

I have been a close friend of Elga's since 1985 when we went to China on a Person to Person sponsored trip. She was a wonderful travelling companion and remained one of my best friends for all the years following. we were as close as sisters--she always had a kind word, a thoughtful question, a deep insight into things. I am overwhelmed trying to get used to the fact that I will not see her again. She was a phenomenon. I loved her with all my heart. Lynda Christian

Teresa Hanafin

November 12, 2014

Dan, so sorry for your loss. Your mother sounds like a truly remarkable woman. - Teresa

Rick Cohn

November 12, 2014

Amazingly energetic, warm, level-headed, dynamic. She was very very good to her friends. I'm deeply sad that she is gone.
--Rick

Susan Grimes

November 12, 2014

She was a fantastic woman and I admired her greatly. So sorry for your loss.
~ Susan Baratz Grimes