Estelle Eisenkraft

Estelle is survived by her three loving daughters, Sharon Rappaport, Meryl Post (Jeff), and Debbie Rolan (Marc), grandchildren Brian (Gaia) and Josh (Marisa) Rappaport, Riley and Zach Post, Maya, and Cooper Rolan, and great-grandchildren Nava and Adam Rappaport and Sloane Rappaport. She is predeceased by her husband of nearly sixty years, Allan Eisenkraft, in August 2022. 

Estelle was born on June 22, 1940 to Albert and Dora (Millstein) Ashkenas and grew up in Jersey City, NJ. She graduated from the Yeshiva of Hudson County (now the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey in River Edge), Dickinson High School, and later from Temple University with a BS in Elementary Education. She met her husband, Allan, in the Catskills and married soon afterward in 1962. They lived together in the Bronx and moved to Nanuet, NY, to raise their family.  Estelle worked as a teacher until the birth of her first child, whereupon she became a homemaker, raising her children and working part-time in the family real estate business in Yonkers, NY.

Estelle and Allan were active members of the Nanuet Hebrew Center (currently known as Congregation Shir Shalom). She sang in the temple choir, was the piano accompanist at numerous community musical events, was a member of Sisterhood, helped tutor students to prepare for their bar/bat mitzvah, and often led parts of the religious services.  A philanthropist at heart, she has been president of, served on the board of, or otherwise supported many other organizations that had special meaning to her, including mid-Rockland Hadassah, Israel Bonds, Camp Ramah Movement, and the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Rockland County, to name a few.  

Estelle and her husband‘s involvement in the Jewish community also led to the creation of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Rockland County. The idea for the JCC started with meetings in their living room more than 45 years ago, and they became founding members. 

When she wasn't volunteering or fundraising, Estelle spent her precious free time with her family, her greatest joy in life. She played basketball and tennis in her youth, traveled the world with her husband, and, more recently, played mahjong, Bananagrams, Monopoly, and gin rummy with her grandchildren.  Estelle, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, and friend, will be sorely missed by all who knew her. 

A funeral service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 17, at Congregation Shir Shalom (formerly Nanuet Hebrew Center) at 411 South Little Tor Road, New City, NY 10956. The Zoom link to the service can be found for those who cannot attend. Burial will immediately follow at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:

https://www.shirshalomrockland.org/donate

https://www.jccrockland.org/support

https://ramahnyack.org/donate/

https://donate.hadassah.org/secure/donate-hadassah?ms=greytributebutton