Dr. Iris M. Elfenbein

Iris M. Elfenbein, August 24, 1933 - May 28, 2023. The daughter of Edna (Schrank) and Irving G. Meltzer, Iris grew up in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, lived her early married years on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, raised her daughters in northern New Jersey, and then moved to Washington, DC (her dream city), Kansas City, and back to Washington, DC, before relocating to Columbia, SC in 2014 following a diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer’s variety. Though she wanted to go “out of town” for college, Iris instead attended City College of New York for her undergraduate and master’s degrees in education. She began her career as a teacher in New York City. In her 30s, she was indescribably proud to attend Teachers College, Columbia University for an Ed.D. Intent on a career in teacher education, she taught at both Lehman College and Teachers College before shifting to professional education for trade associations, first with the American Council of Life Insurance in Washington, D.C. and then the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Kansas City, MO, from which she retired in 1998. An accomplished painter and world traveler, Iris loved handblown glass, fashion, calligraphy and in fact, all beautiful things. She enjoyed serving as a docent at the Hillwood Museum in Washington, DC for more than a decade. A fiercely independent and brave woman, Iris had a positive outlook and genuinely believed that things would work out. Stricken with dementia in her late 70s, she became an even more upbeat and positive person, making statements like “be grateful and shut up.” When she was told (repeatedly) that she would soon become a great- grandmother, she repeatedly said that she’d always been a GREAT grandmother! Survivors include daughters Melissa (John) Adams of Vienna, VA and Jessica Elfenbein (Robert Feinstein) of Columbia, SC; grandchildren Jacob Bockelmann (Elisette Weiss) of Santa Rosa, CA; Lucas Bockelmann (Hannah Sullivan) of Richmond, VA; Nora Feinstein (Yoav Schaefer) of Washington, D.C.; Susannah Feinstein (Alex Friedman) of Pleasant Ridge, MI; and Micah Feinstein of Washington, D.C. Her great-grandchildren are Judah and Lev Bockelweiss and Dahlia and Alma Friedman. The family is grateful for the loving, dignified, and godly care provided to Iris by the entire staff of Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community, and in particular the staff of Rose Garden where she lived since 2016. Donations in her memory may be made to the Still Hopes Residents Assistance Fund or the National Council of Jewish Women. The memorial service for Dr. Elfenbein will be held at 2 o’clock, Friday, June 2nd in the Rose Garden Conference Room at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community, 1 Still Hopes Dr, West Columbia, SC 29169. Burial was at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, New York. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

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Dr. Iris M. Elfenbein

August 24, 1933 - May 28, 2023