Irma Handel

Irma Handel died on August 4th, 2022 after 87 wonderful years. She passed away peacefully at home with her loving family beside her. Born in Queens, New York, the youngest daughter of Anne & Aaron Ruby, Irma graduated from Forest Hills HS where she met Mort, beginning a romance that would last for over 70 years. After earning a degree from Queens College, Irma and Mort were married and Irma began a career in teaching, but soon choose to devote her life to raising a family. Dedicated to her three children and her husband, Irma was the backbone and the compass that encouraged and enabled them to all succeed, instilling in them a sense of morality and fairness that still guides them, as well as set the course for her four grandchildren. Irma spent years supporting her family and pursuing her hobbies and other interests in Huntington, New York and West Hartford, Connecticut. She inherited a love of photography from her father Aaron, who had a darkroom in their Kew Gardens Hills basement. Irma was always with her camera, capturing images on trips around the world and around town. Mort and Irma travelled extensively, with pictures of everything that caught her eye - from Alaska to China to her local supermarket - residing in her albums and in the homes of those she loved. Irma and her husband, Mort, were a family who gave back to their community, supporting with their time and financial resources the Jewish Federations in Hartford, CT and Palm Beach County Florida, and with support to the Jewish Children's Service Organization, Jewish Community Health, Jewish Family Services and JARC. Irma's commitment to education bore full fruit when she and her husband became sponsors of the Say Yes To Education program in Hartford, CT. The Handel's and two other families guaranteed the college education of the entire fifth grade class of 76 black and Latino children at the Annie Fisher Elementary School. The program lasted more than 13 years with nearly all of the children graduating with college degrees. During this same period Irma was a board member of the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford. Her love of photography, music, and art led to contributions that endowed a photo studio and an annual scholarship for students in the graphic arts program, and with her husband Mort, they provided a gift enabling the University of Hartford to establish the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center as part of the Hartt School. Irma is survived by her husband and three children; Mark, his husband, Bill, Gary, his wife Alla, Karen Baker and her husband Mike. She will be missed by her four grandchildren - Emily & Drew Baker, and Kira & Alice Handel, as well as several nieces and nephews. Her sisters, Norma Sorrel and Selma Lichten predeceased her. Irma lived a full life, filled by the love of her husband, children, and grandchildren. She will be missed by many. Contributions can be made to Alzheimers Foundation of America located at 322 8th Avenue, New York City, NY 10001