Isabel Hanelin

Isabel graduated from Brooklyn College in 1963 and received her M.Ed. from Cambridge College in 1989. A lifelong champion of children, Isabel had a long, dedicated career in education which included time at The Charrette School, in Greenwich Village, NYC and The Graham and Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From early on, Isabel felt passionate about project-based learning and the gifts it could bestow. She developed curriculum where kids could learn by sensing, experiencing, and cherishing the environment in which they lived. First as a classroom teacher and then as a math staff and curriculum developer where she guided other teachers on how to practice alternative education and how to ignite a love of learning. Diversity and building inclusive environments in the classroom were imperative to Isabel, she envisioned a world where kids from all cultures and backgrounds could feel empowered and thrive. Even after she retired, Isabel was the go-to math tutor of the family and her holiday gifts to the kids in her life always included something to help them learn.

A lifelong artist, Isabel expressed herself most vividly in creating art with watercolor and fabric. Her paintings of still life scenes, flowers, and the ocean are cherished among her family. Along with art, she loved nature, animals, marine life, and especially Fisher Beach in Truro, Massachusetts. Long before it was mainstream, Isabel practiced organic living with a dedicated focus on organic food and chemical free products, not only for her and her family’s own health, but to support all species to thrive and preserve the environment.

Married for fifty-seven years, Isabel and her husband, Dick, were dedicated and true partners in life. Soulmates. They fell in love while teaching together in Greenwich Village and wooed each other while protesting for community voices to be heard in schools in New York during the 1960s. They shared a passion for diversity, community, art, nature, going for walks, family gatherings, their children, grandchildren and step-grandchildren, their organic flower garden, and they were dedicated to life-long learning, and helping others. In their later years, they could be found in their glorious garden at the first sign of Spring. When their thoughts turned to where they would retire, they knew they wanted to find a place with like-minded people, one where building community was essential and the arts were an integral part of living. They found this in Opus Newton, and it is here where Dick will continue to carry the torch in Isabel’s honor.

Isabel is survived by her Husband Dick Hanelin, her son Jimmy Hanelin and wife Maria Hanelin of Newton, Massachusetts, her daughter Maya Hanelin and wife Dee Reddington of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, her grandson Daniel Hanelin of Montague, Massachusetts, her granddaughter Daria Hanelin of Newton, Massachusetts, Her two step-grandchildren William Simkiss-Reddington and Gwen Simkiss-Reddington, her brother Jack Radetsky and wife Susan Graham of Sunderland, Massachusetts, and her twin nephews Graham Radetsky and Julian Radetsky. Isabel is pre-deceased by her sister, Karen.

Friends may participate in a memorial service for Isabel at the Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 1668 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, 02445, on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, Isabel requested that memorial contributions be made to:

The Cancer Support Community of Massachusetts

Cancer Support Community of Massachusetts offers psychosocial support to cancer patients, caregivers, and those grieving.

https://www.cancersupportmass.org/donate

617-332-5777

The Evergreen Center

345 Fortune Boulevard

Milford, MA 01757

The Evergreen Center is a residential school for children and adolescents with autism, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, focusing on building skills for independence.

https://evergreenctr.org/donate