Nadia Ehrlich Finkelstein

Nadia Ehrlich Finkelstein passed away on June 11, 2025 with family by her side in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Nadia lived a full life of 94 years, starting in Vienna, Austria in 1930, and followed by her most formative decade from 1938-1947 fleeing to Shanghai as a World War II refugee along with other European Jews. Her years in Shanghai were difficult as a child; the resilience of her immediate and extended family provided unending support as the war raged on. After immigrating with her parents to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1947 she finished high school at Cambridge Rindge and Latin and then attended Simmons College in Boston. Through close mutual friends, she met Joseph Finkelstein with whom she would spend 51 years raising three children in Schenectady, New York. In Schenectady, Nadia had deep and decades-long friendships, too numerous to count. Union College was a springboard for building community for both Nadia and Joseph. She returned to the Boston area in 2013.

Nadia’s Jewish identity was central in forming and guiding her entire life and that of her family. As the years went on, she was always active in her Jewish community and contributed to the resettlement of Russian Jewish immigrant families.

In the years between college and settling in Schenectady, she attended Columbia University and earned a Master’s in social work. She lived in Brooklyn and was a case worker for struggling families, making house calls in the streets of Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. Her field work in New York City, and later in Schenectady, propelled her career that ultimately improved the lives of countless children. For 25 years, through her leadership roles at Northern Rivers Family Services in Albany, NY, she developed and supervised innovative programs to support children with emotional trauma and other special needs that included residential and comprehensive school experiences. The programs also expanded foster care and adoption programs throughout upstate New York with integrated support systems for both the adults and children. Her work was nationally recognized including through speaking engagements and writing, including authorship in 1991 of “Children and Youth in Limbo: A Search for Connections.” Her own life experiences and her work with struggling families guided her commitment to helping children build stable personal and community-based connections as they developed.

Nadia’s family was her greatest source of joy. She was encouraging and creative in her parenting. She transmitted a confidence to try new things, attentive and arms-length at the same time in a spirit that reflected her interpretation of the mood of the 1970’s - plaid suits, raucous community-engagement, fondue dinners, Chablis and always with spectacular classical music nearby. She traveled throughout the world over the course of her life and lived overseas on several occasions. And all along, she and her family spent significant time in Orleans, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, where she enjoyed contemplative walks on the rugged coast and alongside serene marshes that were sometimes followed by lobster dinners.

She is survived by her children Sharon Finkelstein of Arlington, MA, Jonathan Finkelstein (Jeanette Macht) of Los Angeles, CA, and Neal Finkelstein (Rebecca Johnson) of New York City and five grandchildren, Dora, Noah, Bobbi, Aaron, and Lily. Nadia’s family will hold these memories close, always inspired by her curiosity, resilience, and optimism.

The family held a private service.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the charity of your choice that supports children and youth.