Priscilla Lates

Priscilla Lates, 96, died peacefully on Friday, April 8, one month shy of her 97th birthday. She had been a resident of The Terrace at Glen Eddy, having moved there in 2018 to be closer to family. She came to appreciate the caring staff and friends she made in her new assisted living home. And her family was so grateful for the care she received and friends she made at The Terrace. Priscilla was born in Brooklyn, NY, to Sarah nee Goldberg and Benjamin Lates. She had a peripatetic childhood, having lived in Miami for sixth grade and Tucson for junior and senior high, returning to Brooklyn for her senior year. Priscilla graduated from Brooklyn College, where she was a prized art student of the avant garde artist Ad Reinhardt, but she got a more practical degree in education. In addition to her parents, Priscilla was pre-deceased by her younger brother Lawrence, her former husband Robert Ochshorn, whom she had married in 1949 and divorced in 1972, and her grandson, Adam Kahn Ochshorn. She is survived by her three devoted sons, Peter Ochshorn (Amy Kahn), Jonathan Ochshorn (Susan Schwartz Ochshorn) and Kurt Ochshorn (Carrie Stern); grandsons Eric, Eli, and Robert Ochshorn, granddaughters Natasha, Sonya, and Jennie Ochshorn; and great-grandsons Gray and Ben Ochshorn. Priscilla taught fourth grade at Columbus School in New Rochelle for thirty years and obtained a master's degree along the way. She introduced her students, many of whom were from immigrant families, to experiences way beyond the prescribed school curriculum. She had them write messages and send them out to sea in bottles. Much to their delight, some of the bottles made it across the sea and were answered. She took students, in groups of four, into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in her own car, stopping at McDonald's as part of their adventure. She had her students perform the musical, Really Rosie, based on the work of Maurice Sendak; and she wrote a play specifically for her students to perform, called 'Use your Gavel Mr. Adams' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vEZYERXMr4, that taught her students about the American Revolution. They wore costumes that she had designed and provided. Priscilla was a beautiful, talented woman with a keen fashion sense and an inquisitive mind. As a young woman, she made most of her own outfits. As a teacher, she always dressed exquisitely. She took advantage of opportunities that she translated into teachable experiences, including a scholarship provided by the Audobon Society and multiple workshops, including one in which she learned how to make Oobleck as part of an introduction to the scientific method for her students. She was an accomplished harmonica player, a world traveler, an avid reader, and a formidable Scrabble player who started each day with the New York Times crossword puzzle. Priscilla was a force of nature who embraced life with gusto. Her indomitable spirit lives on.