Elaine Kobrin Crovitz

1936 - 2024

Elaine Kobrin Crovitz

October 18, 1936 - February 29, 2024

Elaine Kobrin Crovitz of Oak Park, IL, died on February 29 at age 87.

Dr. Elaine Crovitz was born October 18, 1936, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter of Sidney and Jennie (Papier) Kobrin. She graduated from Brooklyn College at the age of 19, having skipped grades in the New York City public school system, and earned her masters and Ph.D. in psychology at Duke University, in Durham, N.C.

Dr. Crovitz, a former resident of Durham, NC, taught psychology at the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and at North Carolina Central University and saw patients at the Duke University Medical Center and at Veteran's Administration hospitals. At a time when there were few women clinicians or psychology professors, Dr. Crovitz was a trailblazer across academic disciplines and geographies: She was a frequent site visitor for the American Psychological Association, including to China, enabling her to make the most of her passion for travel. In the 1970s, she conducted early research and counseled patients on transgender operations, helping many individuals get the chance to live as their gender identity.

Dr. Crovitz, who explained that she became a psychologist because she so enjoyed speaking with people, was known for her animated conversations, even with strangers and even after parties had otherwise ended. Dr. Crovitz's enthusiastic engagement with people throughout her life, which combined her Brooklyn energy and her acquired southern charm, was a constant source of surprise even to her children and closest friends.

A lifelong feminist, Dr. Crovitz was the co-author of "Courage Knows No Sex" (1978), which profiled pioneering women. After her retirement, she continued her work as an educator, serving as a substitute teacher in the Orange County, N.C., public school system. She also wrote a book of fiction in her retirement that was a murder mystery combined with pointed criticism of healthcare's managed care system, "Premedicated Murder" (2000), about which the Durham Morning Herald review said, "It's not often that you find murder, medicine and mayhem" in a novel. Following the 9/11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center by terrorists in 2001, Dr. Crovitz spent months in lower Manhattan giving psychological support to rescue and other essential workers through the American Red Cross.

Known as "Mama Jazz" to her fellow fans, Dr. Crovitz helped curate exhibits on jazz in Durham, N.C., and donated music materials to the city's Yusif Salim Collection. She was a loyal Duke basketball fan through several eras of greatness. She was a founder of Judea Reform Congregation in Durham, N.C.

She is survived by her children, Gordon Crovitz (Minky Worden) of New York, N.Y., Debbie Manus (Paul) of Durham, N.C, and Sara Crovitz (John Sherburne) of Arlington, VA, and by her sister Miriam Mennin of Westport, CT. She was enormously proud of her grandchildren Melissa Manus (Daniel Ash), Justin Manus (Kayla), Jack Crovitz, Ben Sherburne, James Crovitz and Tom Crovitz and was looking forward to her great-grandchild expected by Kayla and Justin next month. She is predeceased by her former husband, Herbert Crovitz of Pittsboro, N. C. The family is grateful for the skilled and compassionate care from Lottie Zatlokiewicz.

A memorial is being planned in New York. Donations to the North Carolina Central University Jazz Ensemble Studies Fund would be appreciated.