Myrna Sandler Fistel

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Myrna Lea Sandler Fistel on April 21, 2026 at the age of 92. Myrna was a caring and devoted wife to Ralph, wonderful mother of five, beloved Bubbie of ten, great-grandmother of four, dear friend and cousin to many, and esteemed member of the Miami Jewish community.

Born on July 9, 1933 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Myrna’s family moved to Miami when she was just nine years old. She graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1951 and University of Miami School of Education in 1955. Myrna met Ralph on sunny South Beach in 1952, fell in love soon after, and married on August 8, 1953. In their 68 years of marriage, they traveled the world together from New Zealand to Netanya, St. Petersburg to Serbia, and Naples to Norway. During their summers off from teaching, Myrna and Ralph packed up their five kids in the station wagon and crisscrossed the USA. Myrna was a voracious reader, an aficionado of the theater and public television, a savvy stock market investor, and a lifelong fan of her treasured University of Miami Hurricanes.

Myrna started her career in education as a nursery school teacher and elementary school educator. At the age of 40, with five young children still at home, she returned to University of Miami to complete her Master’s degree in Special Education. For the next 27 years, she taught countless children how to be successful readers and motivated learners at Vanguard School in Coconut Grove and across Miami-Dade public schools.

For Myrna, the synagogue was always her second home. She was a founding member of The Coral Way Jewish Center, which later became Temple Or Olom, ultimately serving on its Board of Directors and as Sisterhood president for several terms. In her 60s, Myrna fulfilled a lifelong dream to learn how to read Torah and become an adult Bat Mitzvah. Most recently, Myrna was a founding member of Congregation Dor Chadash.

Myrna was a dedicated, longtime volunteer and patron for many organizations, including the Armed Forces Service Center at Miami International Airport, The International Tennis Championships on Key Biscayne, The Gusman Theater, The Actor’s Playhouse and The Coconut Grove Playhouse. Myrna also volunteered as an election poll worker for decades. She was a supporter and attendee of the Florida Grand Opera for many seasons.

Myrna was the adored mother of Naomi (Jen), Jeffrey (Cherrie), Charles, Samuel, and Benjamin (Lara), grandmother of Shira (Jonathan), Gabriel (Jessica), Tova (Alex), Sloane (Noah), Alec, Taylor, Alexa (Stephen), Julia (Patrick), Micaela, and Hannah, and great-grandmother of Nava, Judah, Avi, and - as of the night before her passing - Marni. She was the matriarch of her family and played that role with enthusiasm, optimism, joy, and an abundance of love. She was preceded in death by her husband Ralph Fistel, mother Matilda “Tillie” Sandler, father Fred Sandler, and sisters Charlotte Mittler and Carol Gold.

She lived an extraordinarily long and full life and will be profoundly missed by the many, many people who loved her dearly.

The Fistel family will hold a memorial service on Friday, April 24 at 2pm at Riverside-Gordon Memorial Chapel at Mount Nebo-Kendall, available via Zoom (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83160478945). Shiva will take place at the Fistel home on Friday from 4:30pm until 7:30pm, on Saturday, April 25 from 8pm-9pm, and Sunday, April 26 from 4pm-6pm. Donations in Myrna’s honor and memory may be made to Congregation Dor Chadash at dorchadashmiami.org or sent to 9560 SW 107th Avenue, Suite 202, Miami, Florida 33176.