Debra Popkin

Debra Goldstein Popkin was born on September 26, 1944. She grew up in Brooklyn, in Marble Hill, and then moved to Inwood in Manhattan. She went to the High School of Performing Arts, where she studied Piano and French Horn and found lifelong friends there. She attended school with Murray Perahia, who is considered one of the greatest pianists of our time. Her father Leon, who played the violin in the New York City Ballet orchestra, was proud of her. Debra went to the City College of New York, where she majored in French and spent her junior year at the Sorbonne in Paris.

She did her graduate work at Columbia, where she took a seminar with Justin O’Brien. In that seminar she met Michael, and after they were married they named their son Brian in honor of their teacher. Her daughter Alissa was named after a character in Andre Gide, also translated by Justin O’Brien. Her other daughter Amanda got her name from English literature. While earning her Doctorate at Columbia, Debra began teaching French at Baruch College, where she continued to teach for 45 years until she retired in 2013 as a Full Professor. She also taught at CUNY Graduate school. She was loved by her students, who continued to call her to arrange lunch or dinner long after she retired. At Baruch College she won Teacher of the Year. She was very active in committee work both at Baruch and on CUNY committees. Thanks to their friend Leonard Klein, the Best Man at their wedding, Debra and Michael co-edited a two volume critical anthology called Modern French Literature, published by Frederick Ungar. Debra wrote other things for Ungar, including Encyclopedia articles, but in the nineteen eighties she found two new interests: one was pedagogy, which she studied with John Rassias at Dartmouth. The other was Francophone literature, written by writers in Africa, the Caribbean, and Canada, many of whom she interviewed herself. She read papers about both topics at conferences all over this country and all over the world. She also co-edited a textbook called Tresors Litteraire published by McGraw-Hill.

She was very close to the members of her family. She spoke to her mother Mollie every day of her life,until her mother died at age 99 and one half. She spoke to her children every day until she could no longer hold a phone. She met her sister Lora for lunch once a month until Lora passed away in 2024. She met her uncle Marvin for lunch every few months. She grieved for the loss of her brother Gary.

If you gave her a chance, she would show you pictures of her six grandchildren, Sara, Andrew, Zachary, Tyler, Sebastian, and Skylar. Debra is survived by her husband Michael and her three children Brian Popkin (Eileen), Alisa Coyle (Daniel), and Amanda Etlinger (Ari).

In August of 2022 she was diagnosed with lymphoma, and was treated with chemotherapy and radiation for six months. After she was able to return home in March of 2023, she was still weak on the left side and needed to use a walker. That did not stop her from meeting friends and family for lunch and going every day to the Teaneck Swim Club, where she would hold on to the bars at the side of the pool even if she could no longer swim. She was proud that she was able to attend her grandson Zachery's bar mitzvah and take part in the ceremony of passing the Torah to him.

She was cancer-free for three years, but the lymphoma came back, and treatments were no longer an option. She passed away in comfort at a hospice.

Contributions in memory of Debra may be made to Congregation Beth Sholom of Teaneck or a Charity of your choice.

A Funeral Service will be held at Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, 402 Park Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 on April 5, 2026 at 12:30 pm.

A Committal Service will be held at Cedar Park Cemetery 735 Forest Avenue Paramus, NJ 07652 on April 5, 2026 at 2:00 pm

Shiva will be after Passover, on Friday April 10, from 2-6 pm and Sunday April 12 from 1-3 pm at the home of Amanda Etlinger.

Visitors are welcome at the home of Michael and Debra Popkin, from 3-6 pm on Sunday, April 5 and from 1-6 pm on Monday and Tuesday April 6 and 7.

Davening will be at Congregation Beth Shalom of Teaneck, NJ.

For further information you can contact Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors 1800-522-0588.