JANET HELEN DeKOVEN

Janet Helen DeKoven, 98, beloved wife of the late Herman Jerome DeKoven; mother of Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Ira DeKoven and Mona DeKoven Fishbane; grandmother of Talya, Ariel, Tehila, Eitan, Elisha and Jesse; great-grandmother of Aderet, Tal, Abie, Ora, Maya, Lina and Rivi. Born 'Shaintshu' in Ostrowiec, Poland, she immigrated with her family to Chicago in 1927, where, as Janet, she became a proud American. She studied at Tuley High School, Crane Junior College and the University of Chicago, and worked as a social worker in the city of Chicago and later as a teacher in the reading program at Nichols Junior High in Evanston. In both capacities, her intervention was transformative for the lives of underprivileged youth and young adults. As reading teacher for functionally illiterate seventh and eighth graders, she confessed that her secret was "recognition and meaningful reward: a chocolate soda for every book read!" While raising her children in Highland Park and after retirement in Jerusalem, Cocoa Beach and Palm Beach, FL, Janet gave community lectures on subjects ranging from the Bible to modern American literature, enriching the minds and moral imaginations of all those who heard her. Her compassion for the needy in her own circles and beyond, and her devotion to liberal causes in America and Israel were formative for her family and friends. She was married for 68 years to her beloved Herman, founding partner in the law firm of Dorfman, DeKoven and Cohen. They were early and active members of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El. Her last years were spent in Gidwitz Place, Deerfield, in the devoted care of Lourdes and Anabelle. The funeral will be held at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, 1175 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park, Friday, July 20, at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Council for Jewish Elderly, earmarked for the Herman and Janet DeKoven Memorial Fund for the Gidwitz Place library--sent to 1551 Lake Cook Rd., attention Jennifer Weininger. Info: Weinstein Funeral Home, 847-256-5700.