Stella Stern Abrams

Stella Stern Abrams, nee Rein, 87, died peacefully under hospice care in Albuquerque on Friday , February 3, 2006 after a long series of strokes over the past several years. At her side were her loving daughters, Paula Donahue and Rosella Stern and her dear son-in-law, Steven Donahue. She is preceded in death 33 years ago by her beloved husband and the father of her children, Jerome Stern, and her second husband, Norman Abrams, with whom she shared a decade in her 60's and early 70's. She is also survived by her son-in-law Freddie Walker; granddaughter Rebecca (partner Beth) Bloom; great- grandson Elijah Jerome Bloom. She is also survived by a large extended family and Norman Abrams' children Peggy, Linda, Bill, Phillip and their families. Stella was born in Chicago on the first day of spring, March 21, 1918, the third child of Isadore and Dora Rein. Along with her older brothers, Sid and Joe, she spent her childhood on the near-Southside and old West Side of Chicago, graduating from Marshall High School in 1934. Back at work, she held a long-time position as a departmental administrator at Educational Testing Service in Evanston, IL and worked there until her retirement. After the death of her second husband and her mother, who died at 99, she moved west to Albuquerque to live independently near her younger daughter Paula. She was nationally honored for her volunteer service as a member of the Ha Ha Cart at the University of New Mexico Hospital Service League. She was a friend to many, a support to individuals in need and a surrogate mother to those who had lost their own. Her brother Joseph Rein and her step-sister Gloria Edwards survive her as the remaining siblings of a blended Rein/Gold family including her elder brother, Sid Rein, and her stepbrothers and stepsisters, Rose Goldberg, Anita Bogorad, Herbert Gold, and Pearl Jacobson, who died this past week in Scottsdale, Arizona. Funeral services will be held in Albuquerque, NM at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd., NE, on Tuesday, February 7, 2006, at 10 o-1/8clock a.m. Internment will be at The Congregation Albert Cemetery within Fairview Cemetery, also in Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Stella's honor to Jewish Family Service of New Mexico, 5520 Wyoming Blvd., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109. Shiva will be held at the home of her daughter, Paula Donahue. She was a woman of strong will and deep love for life. She will be profoundly missed by all who were touched by her.