PAULA NORDWIND

NORDWIND--Paula. Paula Nordwind, a woman of great intellect, wit, beauty, and charm, died April 5, 2023 at the age of 96 in Beverly Hills, California. She was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 1, 1927, the daughter of Dorothy and Jack Luban. She grew up in Flatbush, in the shadow of Ebbets Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played. She went to Erasmus High School then started college where she met Aaron Nordwind who became her husband in 1946. A year later they had their first child, Betty, and in 1953 they had a son, Rich. In 1956 they bought a home in Bayside, Queens where they lived happily for almost 50 years. An independent thinker and early and ardent feminist, Paula worked outside the home for most of her adult life, unusual for a woman of her generation. She had jobs as an EKG technician at a hospital and a staff worker on a local newspaper. But she was proudest of going back to school and earning her degree in art history at Queens College--with flying colors. This led to jobs at various museums including the Queens Museum and later the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was like a devout Catholic getting a job at the Vatican. She made friends wherever she went, from her lifelong soul-mate Phyllis whom she met as a young mom, to close companions in New York and Los Angeles. Paula and Aaron loved the theater and attended all the great musicals from Broadway's Golden Age. Paula was a devotee of the New York City Ballet and visited museums all around the world--she considered them her "second home." Paula deeply loved her children. Betty is the longtime executive director of the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law in Los Angeles and Rich was a journalist with the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers. She was close to and proud of her grandchildren as well; Emily is an executive with Paramount Studios and has a family in Atwater, Jake is a writer for Saturday Night Live and lives in both New York and Eagle Rock. She was delighted to get to know her great- grandchildren Esme and Lydie, who loved her Mardi Gras decorated walker with its multi-colored beads; Paula was stylish to the very end. Paula and Aaron spent many happy years in West Los Angeles where they met new friends and participated in myriad cultural and volunteer activities. Aaron died in 2017 and Paula moved to an assisted living facility in Beverly Hills where in characteristic Paula Nordwind fashion she was a popular and active member of the community. She developed a close relationship with Diana who became a valued member of our family. Paula lived her life with verve, compassion and laughter. She loved the world and it loved her back. Paula will be deeply missed by all who knew her.