Fay Waldoff Botnick

Fay Waldoff Botnick passed away peacefully on January 22, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 98. She was born in Hattiesburg, MS, on June 26, 1926, to Paul and Eva Stein Waldoff. Following high school, she went to LSU and it was there she met her future husband and the love of her life Adolph Ira ("B") Botnick. They were married in 1947 and, following graduation in 1949, they moved to Hattiesburg where "B" began working at his father-in-law's department store and where their three children--Michael, Wendeline, and Lori were born.

In the early years of their marriage, when Fay was involved with B’nai Brith, there was an opening for a position at ADL, and she encouraged “B” to apply. “B” hesitated out of concern for his family’s safety, but Fay told him there are bigger issues on a global scale and we have a responsibility to nurture a world where diversity is celebrated and every person is treated with dignity and respect. With Fay’s encouragement, “B” took the ADL position, and they worked together to end discrimination and create a more inclusive and compassionate society.

It was in New Orleans in the 1960s that Fay began her career in administration, first at Sophie Newcomb as assistant to the Dean of Students and later as assistant to the Provost at Tulane University. And it was in that academic environment where she found a second home that engaged her lifelong interests in music, literature, and psychology. She was an accomplished flutist, having played in bands in high school and college, and throughout her life she loved concerts and was an avid reader. She also loved to travel, often going with "B" or one of her children to Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Israel, Egypt, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Russia, and South America.

While the 1960s and 1970s marked great success for Fay and "B", they were also the years when the civil rights movement was being opposed throughout the South, often with violence. As regional director of the ADL, “B” often travelled into Mississippi to meet with city and state officials, as well as members of Jewish congregations, to discuss the ongoing violence and ways of dealing with it. He and Fay had to live with repeated threats, including a direct threat from Byron de la Beckwith, who murdered Medgar Evers in 1963.

Fay credited her long life to the love and devotion of family, oysters, and lemon drop martinis. She was preceded in death by her infant daughter Sheryl, her husband "B," and brother Milton Waldoff. She leaves behind to cherish her memory her son Michael Botnick (Jill), daughters Wendeline Botnick and Lori Botnick Fireman (Ted), brother Leon Waldoff (Alice), nieces Jessica Waldoff (Nate), Lauren Runnels (Bradley), and nephew Paul Waldoff. She was the proud grandmother of, and affectionately known as "Honey" by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Madelyn (Madeleine) and Marlana (Jena) Fireman, Laila Ajani, Emma Howitt (Cameron), Elizabeth Sheen (Mathew), Matthew (Lauren) and Christopher (Julia) Davis, Abby (Ben) and Molly (Joseph) Botnick, as well as great grandmother of Maya Howitt, Samantha and Ellie Sheen, James, Caroline, Ilana, and Teddy Davis.

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to one of Fay’s favorite charities: Anti-Defamation League, NCJW, Jewish Children’s Regional Service in New Orleans, or the Parkinson’s Foundation.

A graveside service was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 28, 2025.