Muriel Graber

A graveside service for Muriel will be held Monday, June 5, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at New Montefiore Cemetery, 1180 Wellwood Avenue, West Babylon, NY 11704.

Muriel Grace (Epstein) Graber, born August 6, 1933, passed away on June 2, 2023, surrounded by family.

Predeceased by her parents Sam and Florrie (Gilbert) Epstein, brother Howard, and sister-in-law Ivy Berchuck. Survived by her husband of over 70 years Mark Graber; sister-in-law Cynthia Fuchs-Epstein; children Alison (Wayne Romonchuk), Stuart (Corey), and Rachel (Mark Hahn); grandchildren Sarah (Ed Ball), Mike (Michelle Chu), and Sam Graber-Hahn (Ryan Shaffer); and many loving nieces and nephews, and their children.

Muriel was born in New York City and attended Forest Hills High School as a Westinghouse Scholar and able marksman. She met Mark Graber in 1950 in Warrensburg, N.Y., and they married in 1952. After the wedding, they went to the beach. They took their honeymoon on Martha’s Vineyard, and then moved to Pennsylvania and Kentucky for two years while Mark served in the army. In 1955, Mark and Muriel bought their current home in Flushing and welcomed their first child.

Muriel worked as a photographer, developing photographs in the basement with an eye for candids and portraits. She then taught elementary school for 26 years, while raising three children. In the summers, the family spent time at the bungalow colony at Indian Head in Warrensburg, where they loved to play tennis. They explored the U.S. national parks out west and the Canadian Rockies. In retirement, Mark and Muriel were inseparable. They took adult ed courses, went camping in the woods, and traveled the world together.

Muriel had a sharp intellect and was always curious. Not “curious” in the way she used that word (as in, “these leftovers taste curious”) — but curious about the world. She was constantly reading and learning, with a particular interest in science. She learned to read Hebrew as an adult and always led Friday night candle-lighting. She had a love of music, and she and Mark regularly attended concerts in the City. She loved to play the piano, not in front of people but for her own enjoyment. Muriel relished spending quiet time in the backyard with Mark and tending her free-form garden. She delighted in her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, their children, and other family members, neighbors, and friends.

Muriel took pride in being frugal at home, yet she was exceptionally generous with others. In that spirit, donations in her memory may be sent to a charity of your choice.