Roberta Faxstein Handel

Handel,

Roberta Faxstein

Nov 2, 2025

Passed on November 2, 2025 in Williamsville, NY. Roberta was graduated, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the Syracuse University's Schools of Liberal Arts (Sociology) and Journalism. She was a member of the student advisory committee to the Dean, of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority and of the Jewish Student Fellowship. She completed post-graduate work in the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration in 1956. Roberta was a program coordinator and administrator at the School of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo in the departments of Epidemiology, Community Psychiatry and in the Medical School. She has taught at the New York State University at Buffalo's Department of Continuing Education and in the Community Education Program in Williamsville, New York Central School District. She worked as an advisor to and as an occasional participant on "Mind Over Myth", a local public service program broadcast monthly for fifteen years on the local ABC television affil iate moderated by her husband Richard. The viewing audience included Western New York and nearby Canada. During her nineteen year winter residence in Delray Beach, Florida she was a member of the faculty of the Institute for Learning in Retirement in Boca Raton, Florida. She also conducted writing workshops for the Delray Beach Public Library and was a writing instructor in the Century Village community in Boca Raton. During the summer months she taught at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo, Inc. She attended Sunday school at Temple Beth Zion to which her parents and other family members belonged. She was the winner of the "What Confirmation Means to Me" award. During her high school days she was active in the Young People's group. At her 50th Confirmation Class Reunion she gave the welcoming speech too classmates in which she stated- "We recall tonight what we learned at Temple Beth Zion from our rabbis and our teachers. We also learned from each other. It was a time making the decisions that shaped our futures, when we found encouragement and support from you, our friends. The solidarity strengthened us to meet the choices and challenges of our lives. We were blessed with the feeling of community, of having been part of a cohesive group where we truly belonged." She married Buffalo attorney Richard M. Handel in 1958. They met at the Mr. and Miss Club of Temple Beth Zion and their first date followed a re-confirmation service at the Temple. In September 2018 she decided to move to Canterbury Woods in Williamsville, New York where she enjoyed being with friends, meeting new friends, attending classes, lectures, and various forms of entertainment. She taught a memoir writing class for residents. She is survived by two sons, William (Jamie), a businessman of Amherst, New York and David (Chemena) an international orchestra conductor, grandson Alexander Richard Michael Handel, three step-grandsons, and a foster grandson. She was a devoted member of the extended family and selflessly shared her intellect, dedication, and unwavering support to her two sons William and David. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday November 26, 2025 at Canterbury Woods, 705 Renaissance Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221 at 2:00 PM Arrangements entrusted to AMHERST MEMORIAL CHAPEL LLC.