Died peacefully at home on April 29, 2025, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, after a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, committed service to her community, and devotion to her family. Born June 15, 1936, to Harold and Bertha Linder, Prudence grew up in New York City and Washington, D.C. She attended Radcliffe College where she met her future husband, Daniel Steiner, in her last week of college and his of law school. They married in 1960. Prudence earned a Master’s in Special Education from CUNY in 1965, which led to teaching reading to children with learning differences. Following the family’s move to Cambridge, and in the midst of actively raising her children, she earned her PhD in American Literature from Harvard in 1981. She taught several courses at Harvard and founded the writing program in the Harvard Extension School. Later in life she translated plays by Voltaire and Moliere which were published to critical acclaim. Throughout her life she volunteered extensively, particularly for Jewish organizations such as Harvard Hillel and the Jewish Women’s Archive.
A committed parent, she gave remarkable support to Daniel throughout their 46 years of marriage. She is survived by her sister Susan Linder, brother-in-law Henry Steiner (Pam), children Elizabeth & Joshua (Antoinette), and grandchildren Mira, Emerson, Raphael, Margot, and Clara. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
