Nancy Horowitz Kleinbaum

Nancy Horowitz Kleinbaum, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. She was 76.

Born on August 30, 1948, Nancy was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey by Harold and Sylvia Horowitz, who owned Horowitz Pharmacy.

Judaism and Jewish values were important to Nancy from a young age. At 13, she became a Bat Mitzvah-a rarity for girls at the time-and was active in Junior Hadassah.

At Battin High School in Elizabeth, Nancy served as editor of High Spots, the student newspaper.

At 15, a friend coaxed her into going on a double date, where Nancy met Jerry Kleinbaum, a fellow high school student in Elizabeth. Soon, Jerry became a regular at Horowitz Pharmacy, planting the seeds for a relationship that would flourish for more than six decades.

The high school sweethearts stayed together through college: Nancy studied at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, while Jerry pursued engineering and pre-med studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

They married in 1970, and Nancy worked as a newspaper editor in Massachusetts while Jerry attended medical school. As editor of the Melrose Evening News, Nancy was the youngest newspaper editor in the state.

By the mid-1970s, Nancy left her newspaper career to focus on family. She raised three children-Stacey, Adam, and Josh-instilling in them a love of family, education, and Jewish values.

She led by example: She helped launch Junior Congregation, a children's service at her local synagogue, and turned every holiday into a family gathering. She spread tables across her home to ensure that aunts, uncles, cousins, and others could celebrate holidays, and simchot together.

Nancy appreciated new and antique objects, and had a beautiful and practical teapot collection.

Nancy maintained a close relationship with her parents throughout her life. She shared a particularly deep bond with her mother, Sylvia, until Sylvia's passing last year at age 99.

In later years, her devotion to family extended to her nine grandchildren, who were the light of her life.

Nancy consistently put others before herself. The examples were countless: renting a Barney costume for her 16-year-old son's birthday party so a stranger could later use it for their sick child, volunteering to manage a friend's state supreme court campaign, attending every PTA meeting, and attending innumerable events featuring her grandchildren.

Despite her commitment to family, she never abandoned her career. While she no longer worked full-time in newspapers, she continued to write as an author and magazine features writer. She published more than a dozen books, including novelizations of popular movies and television shows. Her novelization of Dead Poets Society earned her an international following, particularly in Germany. Another notable work, The Magnificent Seven, celebrated the achievements of the gold-medal-winning 1996 U.S. women's gymnastics team. In 2000, she received a master's degree in American Studies from Columbia University.

Nancy is survived by her husband, Dr. Jerry Kleinbaum, of Bethel, Conn.; her daughter, Stacey Rubinfeld, and her husband, Adam, and their children, Aaron, Jordan, and Alexa, of Ridgefield, Conn.; her son, Adam Kleinbaum, and his wife, Rachel Barenbaum, and their children, Ezra, Jonah, and Lily, of Brookline, Mass.; her son, Josh Kleinbaum, and his wife, Nicole, and their children, Joanna, Stephanie, and Asa, of Maplewood, NJ; her brother, Michael Horowitz, and his wife Susan, of Mt. Kisco, NY; and her sister, Beverly Horowitz, and her husband Dr. Georges Moroz of Riverdale, NY.

Donations in Nancy's memory can be made to WomenHeart, Hadassah, or the Michael J. Fox Foundation.