Zelda Austen

1934-2015

Zelda Grafman Austen died on January 10, 2015 in Austin, Texas, at the age of 80. Zelda was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and spent most of her life in New York until she moved to Austin, Texas following her retirement from Long Island University. She touched countless lives as an educator and will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Zelda was born on November 15, 1934 in Brooklyn, NY, the younger of two children. Her parents Harry and Ruth Grafman and sister Joyce Grafman Bernstein preceded her in death. Zelda graduated from New Utrecht High School, Brooklyn in 1951 and received a Bachelor of Arts Cum Laude from Brooklyn College in 1955, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Zelda subsequently received her Masters degree from Ohio State University and Ph.D. from Stony Brook University.

Zelda married Burton G. Aisenberg (changed to Austen) on April 16, 1954 in Brooklyn, NY. They had three children, Seth (now Shana Aisenberg), William and Rebecca. Zelda and Burt lived in Brooklyn, then moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1957, where Zelda earned her Masters degree and taught at the Columbus School for Girls. They returned to New York in 1965 and settled in Sea Cliff, a small village on the North Shore of Long Island. They were divorced in 1969. Zelda met Arthur Gubernick, her second husband, through mutual friends, and they lived together in Sea Cliff for nearly twenty years, then married on April 13, 1990, and remained best friends and loving companions until her death.

Zelda taught in the English Department at C.W. Post College, Long Island University for most of her professional career. Zelda was a Professor Emerita and inspired teacher with deep expertise in Victorian literature and art, particularly the novels of Charles Dickens and the poetry and paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Movement. During her long career at LIU-Post, she also served as Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Honors Program, and won the Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995.

Although their roots ran deep in New York, the lure of a balmy climate and desire for a change of pace in retirement brought Zelda and Arthur to Austin, Texas in 1999. Zelda continued teaching in Austin and was a beloved instructor at the University of Texas Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where she taught numerous classes through the SAGE and QUEST programs.

Throughout her lifetime, Zelda and Arthur traveled frequently in the US and across Europe and the UK. Zelda was an ardent Anglophile and developed a rich and deep parallel life in England, making countless trips and establishing life-long friendships over four decades. A fortuitous stop at the New Inn in Coln St. Aldwyns was the first of many trips to the Cotswolds, where Zelda believed that even the sheep had been to art school, as they invariably knew exactly where to stand in order to make a perfect view. She and Arthur were avid bicyclists and toured many regions of the UK on two wheels. She adored visiting English churches, villages, gardens and country homes, collecting antique treasures and William Morris textiles, and observing the ever-changing subtleties of light and sky.

Zelda devoured literature – she could never simply read a book, everything was analyzed and critiqued – and was equally enthusiastic about movies, plays and art. She had a sharp wit and deep intellectual curiosity. She was a brilliant letter writer, and devoted reader of The New York Times, from which she did the daily crossword puzzle and frequently clipped articles for her children and friends. She was a ruthless Scrabble and Monopoly player. Zelda enjoyed classical music, and knew the lyrics and story lines to every Gilbert and Sullivan opera. She adored English TV programming – woe to anyone who called on a Sunday evening and disrupted Masterpiece Theater. Zelda loved New York City and routinely visited its museums, galleries, parks, neighborhoods and restaurants. Zelda was a passionate gardener, favoring local species but also gathering seeds and clippings from afar. Zelda was known for leaving the house early on Saturday mornings to go on "sneaks" – seeking treasures at yard sales, antique stores and local bazaars – and filled her home with exquisite china, figures, jade pieces, prints and textiles. She was a gifted artist, and painted exquisite watercolors which fill the homes of those she loved. In retirement, she treasured lunches and happy hours with family and friends, long and lazy reads, and idle contemplation in her garden.

Zelda's grandchildren brought her great "naches" (Yiddish for "pride" or "joy"). She loved to visit with James and Aaron Austen, sons of William Austen and his wife Stephanie Timm-Austen, and Emma and Leah Holt, daughters of Rebecca Austen and her husband Vernon Stacy Holt. Zelda reveled in their accomplishments and taught them much about life.

Zelda leaves an extraordinary legacy. She is survived by her husband Arthur Gubernick, her three children and four grandchildren, and her niece and nephew. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to KLRU in Austin or your local PBS station, or to the charity of your choice in Zelda's memory. A private gathering of family and friends will be held on January 31, 2015.

"Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special

providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,

'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be

now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the

readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he

leaves, what is't to leave betimes?"

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2, by William Shakespeare