Dr. Joan Abramowitz

DR. JOAN ABRAMOWITZ beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many passed away on May 10th. With her beloved husband at her side, Joan faced cancer with her usual indomitable spirit, used the time she gained richly, and was an inspiration and comfort to her friends and family. Joan was born in New York on May eighth, 1949 to Seymour and Helen Scheer She received a B.S degree from Ithaca College and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from New York University. Dr. Abramowitz served for twenty years as a highly respected faculty member at the University of Houston-Downtown. She retired in 2004 due to illness with the rank of Associate Professor. Among her many contributions as a faculty member, she served as chairperson of the Microbiology Degree Program, as chairperson of the Health Professions Advisory Committee, as a member of the Faculty Senate, and was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award in 2002. As a professor, Dr. Abramowitz uniquely combined a demand for high standards and academic rigor with a nurturing, Jewish mother attitude. She worked side by side with her students in the laboratory and mentored them in finding research opportunities in the Texas Medical Center and in applications to health professions schools. She imbued her students with a love of learning and striving for excellence. Dr. Abramowitz was both a team player and a leader in her relationships with her colleagues. She was a member of the Texas Association for Microbiology and the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. She was a devoted member of Congregation Emanuel and when she was fifty-four years old, still teaching and undergoing chemotherapy she fulfilled a lifelong dream and became a Bat Mitzvah. Joan loved to have her family and her many friends around her, frequently entertaining large and small groups in her home. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Joel Abramowitz, sons Michael Abramowitz and Carl Abramowitz, her grandson, Sebastian Abramowitz, and Sebastian's mother Brittany Walker. Her son Jesse Abramowitz preceded her in death. She is survived also by her parents, Seymour and Helen Scheer, her sister, Carol Schein and her husband Richard and their children, Audrey Stone and Leslie Lonergan, her mother-in-law Helen Abramowitz, her sister-in-law Elizabeth Jenkins and her husband, Richard and their children, Elita and Elan. Joan is survived by many friends and colleagues who will miss her deeply. Services will be held in the Santuary of Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Blvd., on Friday, May 13, 2005 at 11:00 A.M., burial at Emanu El Memorial Park Cemetery. For those desiring, memorials may be directed in Joan name to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.