Ellin S. Feld

Longtime Garrison resident Ellin S. Feld died on Thursday, October 23 at age 98. A scholar of German literature and gifted language instructor, Ellin taught for many years in Columbia University's Department of Germanic Languages, co-authoring two widely used first-year German textbooks, Anfang Und Fortschritt and Zielsprache: Deutsch.
Born Ellin Muriel Silverman in Brooklyn on January 18, 1927 to Mollie and Harry Silverman, she and her family moved often between Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan during the Depression. Graduating from Taft High School in Brooklyn in 1943 and Brooklyn College in 1947, Ellin earned a Masters in German from Boston University. She taught for two years at the University of Idaho and then returned to New York for graduate study in German at Columbia. A prestigious fellowship took her to the University of Tubingen to study the image of Italy as seen in 18th century German novels. Back at Columbia, her work shifted from graduate study to teaching, serving as a popular and highly rated instructor until her retirement in 1989, teaching from her own textbooks. In 1980, Ellin won Columbia's Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Ellin wed Milton Feld in June, 1955. They were married for 50 years. They raised two sons, Peter and Michael, moving from Riverside Drive in Manhattan to Riverdale and later Yonkers, NY. The couple settled in Garrison in 1984 after Milton's retirement, taking frequent trips to destinations like the Galapagos, England and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Latin America, Alaska and Russia, until Milton's death in 2006.
In Garrison, Ellin continued her gardening hobby, and became a talented antiques dealer specializing in early American furniture and quilts, buying and selling at auctions, antiques centers, and shows like the Rhinebeck Antiques Fair where she was a regular. Ellin was an active member of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance, serving on its board as recording secretary. She was a political activist with the Philipstown Democrats, working tirelessly in support of causes like Indian Point and candidates like former Congressman John Hall.
Donations in Ellin's memory can be made to her favorite local institutions: Beacon Hebrew Alliance, Desmond-Fish Library, Chapel Restoration, Boscobel, and the Highlands Current.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey, LLC.