Still think of Lily often. I’m sure I’ll never meet another Lily!  Loved her. May she rest in peace. ❤️

I love and miss my dear friend Lily. I was her “Irish”

I first met Lily nearly 26 years ago at University of Hawaii. We stayed in touch and were blessed to share so many adventures and conversations over the years. She was an incredible force in the universe, full of spunk, hutzpah and joie de viverer. I miss her terribly. Our near weekly conversations, her setting me straight, never pulling punches... she was a mentor and the dearest of friends. We shared so many dear moments. Covid brought a sober time that complicated her end of life. It was a struggle in the end for her, as her mind was still sharp but her body failing. I only wish I could have been there with her physically one last time to tell her how much she meant to me and how much I loved her. Fly high my beloved friend and rest in peace till we meet again.



I became friends with Lilly on one of her annual trips to Hawaii just about 4 years ago, via my friend and colleague Lee Siegel and another dear friend, his partner Elizabeth Blalock. Lilly loved them both so much, and Elizabeth in an especially intense way, as if they were family  in a previous incarnation. Lilly loved my wife Nandini too, whom she called "Nani" like I do. Lilly and I would talk on the phone in between her Hawaii visits, and we shared a very dark sense of humor, as well as a mercilessly critical attitude toward anything and anyone truly stupid. We celebrated her birthday several years in a row at Lee and Elizabeth's beachside house, and each celebration was so memorable. Sometimes she would share an experience that took the breath right out of me, but more generally she was an example of that perfect presence-in-the-moment and enjoyment of each pleasure that is sometimes the harvest of passing through hell.  'Enjoy life while you can, and don't let anyone play with your happiness'--that is one lesson I take from her. The last time I spoke to her was a couple months before she died, and she had been very depressed  for a while, since her physical condition had finally taken away her freedom.  That is another lesson I take from her: 'try to prepare for the loss of independence which age may bring,'--I saw that a woman whom Auschwitz couldn't break was ironically crushed by the same profound independence that got her through life.  I will never forget that last conversation. Even in her utter desolation, it was like the clouds parted for a a few seconds and she laughed one more time in her inimitable childlike abandon. I joked about someone I hated so much that I refused to compare them to a particular animal which she suggested. I said "I have too much respect for animals", and she cackled one last time for me. Such a gift she gave me with that one last laugh.   

Lilly and my father Max Reiser were first cousins.  Her father Isidor Reiser and my grandfather Armin Reiser were brothers.  It was a miracle that Lilly and her parents, Isidor and Elsa, along with her brother Leo survived the Holocaust.  My father, Max Reiser, lost his parents and sister during the Holocaust, and Lilly and her family were the only Reiser connection that he had that survived.  My father emigrated to Israel (then Palestine) when he escaped his homeland of Czechoslovakia.  In Israel, Max and Lilly and her family eventually reunited and stayed connected until my father's death 20 years ago.  I remember growing up visiting her family in their kibbutz and they always sent us off loaded with fruit.  I recall vividly that her father had such a similar face to my grandfather (which I only saw in photos).  Her brother Leo would come to us in Netanya and stay with us for days as we were the only family he had in Israel.  Once I moved to the United States, my husband and I visited Lilly in NY and she occasionally stayed with us on her way to Hawaii.  I continued to speak to Lilly over the years and checked in with her and found her resilient and spirited nature remained until the very end.  I am very sorry to hear of the passing of my second cousin.  May her memory be a blessing.  

Yael Reiser Alcheck

I worked with Lily for two years at PS9 Manhattan. I kept in touch with her throughout the years. I will call her Doña Lily always because she was Lily who said things as they were clear and to the point. During the last years she had some health issues and I always told her you will go to Hawaii and come back 10 years younger. She loved Hawaii because of the people, fish  and the ocean. And so she did no exceptions 3 months in Hawaii until age 94.  Amazing I went to her 95 birthday and I was happy to see her happy and she participated in the songs. It was memorable. Lily I kind of knew that you departed because I had called you many times and there was no answer and you always answered my calls. Sending my love dear friend you will be missed.


I wanted to also share a picture.  What a life she lived.  I dearly miss her!  RIP  forever Lily.

I met Lilly when she walked into Kennedy Theatre at Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa where I was the manager, asking if she could usher for free admission to our summer programs. As you know Lilly would do anything for a free ticket! She came to all the events and we got to be friends. I slowly learned about her hard young life but remember her better as the feisty lady she became with a passion for all the arts, especially her beloved opera. I left Hawaii in 2015 but she would call and we would catch up. She was always recommending a book to read or telling me about her latest journey. I was in New York a few times since I moved but she not in shape for visitors. I am sorry that I wasn't about to see her again since that last summer in Hawaii. Aloha Lilly.

We met Lily when she came to Buenos Aires. She stayed at our home. What a personality! We continued being in touch since we move to the US.
I have been phoning her for several weeks and today I just thought of googling her name. That is when I found out she died. I do not know who from her family is left, might be in Israel. If someone reads this message, please, receive our condolences. 
irene

Lilly,

I will miss your annual summer trips to Hawaii and the many dinners we had together.  Magic Island (your favorite swimming area) will never be the same without you.  You had one of the most incredible lives I ever heard of.  May you rest in peace, your friend Bill.

I will truly miss Lilly.  We had been friends for 35 years and had many laughs together on her visits to California or mine to New York.  She was one of a kind.   I really loved her.  Rest in Peace Lilly.

I first met Lilly in the natural history museum in NYC in about 1996.  I was in the lobby with one of my twins.  I had been  working on an opera about the Holocaust.  She walked up to me and said, "I feel like we are supposed to know each other."   I said "I do too."  We became fast friends.  In the last year I got to go to New York frequently for work. I saw her once a month.   I typed up her bio and we were hoping to write a book about her courageous experiences during the Holocaust. She gave me her star of David from the period for safe keeping.  She was such a bold woman.  No doubt it saved her life.  I talked to her two weeks  ago and she didn't know why I had not come to visit her during the last months.  She didn't understand the pandemic.  I sent her a photo of us by mail with hopes of a reunion after the pandemic had gotten better.  I am so sad that reunion will never come to pass. What a sad time for someone with such a difficult life history to pass.  She was like a second grandmother to me and I will love her always.

Scores of my colleagues at the East-West Center in Honolulu join me in mourning Lilly’s passing. 
She spent many summers on our campus and enlivened countless conversations. 
We will miss her greatly. She lived an extraordinary life and will live on in our memories. 
Richard R Vuylsteke 
President 
East-West Center 

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Lilly Reiser

31 juillet 1924 – 30 avril 2020

Riverside Memorial Chapel

Montrez votre soutien

Envoyez Vos
Condoléances

Partager
L'avis De Décès

Obtenir les mises à jour

Prestations de Service