Helen (Gelbard) Rakin of Brookline on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
Devoted wife of Anatoly. Beloved mother of David Drazen (wife, Chaya), Daniel Drazen (wife, Holly), Mark Drazen and stepmother of Irina Rakin. Loving grandmother of Joshua, Joseph and Yoni Drazen. Dear sister of Joseph Gelbard (wife, Silvia). Former wife of the late Clifford Drazen. Services at Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard Street, Brookline on Monday, July 8, 2024, at 10:00am. Interment at the Young Israel Cemetery, 350 Grove Street, West Roxbury.
Shiva will be held at her late residence. Shacharit Tuesday through Friday will be at 7:30 am and mincha Monday through Thursday will be at 8:10 pm. Visitors are welcome in the morning after shacharit until 10:00 am and in the evening beginning at 6:00 pm until mincha. Shacharit on Sunday will be at 8:00 am, and immediately after davening the family will get up from shiva.
Remembrances may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America or Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
Helen Rakin was a Holocaust survivor. She was born in Czestochowa, Poland in 1935 and spent part of her early years living in a ghetto before going into hiding during the Holocaust. Professionally, Helen worked as an Admissions Officer for Harvard Medical School for 25 years.