MADELINE GOODSTEIN

1920 - 2023

GOODSTEIN--Madeline P. Beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Dr. Madeline Goodstein, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2023, in Canton, MA at the age of 102. Madeline lived an extraordinary life. Born on October 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, NY, to Julius and Henrietta Prager, she graduated from Brooklyn College majoring in chemistry and worked as a chemist until after World War II. In 1947, she married Julian Goodstein, an electrical engineer, with whom she had three children and to whom she was happily married for 61 years. The following year, six months pregnant with her first child, she earned a Master of Science in Chemistry, the first woman to do so at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. In 1968, Madeline earned a Doctorate in Chemistry Education from Columbia University. She became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Central Connecticut State University, where she taught chemistry for almost 25 years, and was appointed full Professor in 1977. Thereafter, Madeline became involved in efforts to improve the teaching of science and math in junior high schools. She received grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to lead a national effort to achieve this goal. She was President of the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers (NEACT), editor of the NEACT Journal and in 1991 received NEACT's prestigious Timm Award for outstanding chemistry teaching and textbook writing. She authored articles for the American Chemical Society and published 12 science activity books for junior high school students, which remain available on Amazon. Madeline's interests and activities outside of chemistry were extensive, and included tennis, golf, bridge, gardening, photography, sewing, cooking and travel. She was also active in Jewish organizations. However, her family was the core and focus of her life. She leaves her daughter, Elaine, grandchildren, Nathan, Eddie, Rebecca and Maya, and great- grandchildren, Ari, Emmy, Aaron, Olivia, Sophia and Lulu; her daughter Barbara (Dennis), grandchildren Daniel and Rachel, and great-grand- children Elliott, Reid and Jacob, and her son Ronald (Emily). She was predeceased by her husband, Julian. She will be greatly missed. Donations in her memory can be made to the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers or the American Jewish Congress.