ESTHER ITZKOVITZ

Esther was born and raised with her four brothers in Uniontown, PA, the only daughter of Meyer and Gertrude Swimmer, Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Esther attended Penn State University and graduated from Boston University with a BA and an M.Ed. in guidance counseling. After graduating, she worked at Temple University, as Assistant Director of Student Activities.

Esther and Stuart met on a blind date, and they laughed together all night. They married three months later. They raised their family in Harrisburg, PA, where they ran a motel and restaurant for many years. Esther was actively involved in running the business, and deeply committed to volunteer work that emerged from her Jewish identity and her commitment to Jewish community and to tikkun olam. She was hard-working, and willing to take on any task, but she frequently found herself serving in leadership positions: at her children’s schools, at her synagogue, in Hadassah, and on countless editorial boards. She founded the Beth El Temple book club in the early 1970s, and she worked tirelessly for Soviet Jewish refugees.

During their retirement, Esther and Stuart spent 18 winters in Boynton Beach, Florida, before moving to Brooksby Village in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Esther was known for her beautiful smile, her infectious laugh, and her kind heart. She was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. She will be missed by all her friends and family, and will be remembered as a person who made many heart-felt and important contributions to the communities she was a part of.

Esther was pre-deceased by her parents and her four brothers, Wolford, Herbert, Alvin, and Saul. She is survived by Stuart—her devoted husband of 57 years— their two children, Amy and Daniel, and their spouses, Len McCauley and Natasha Lifton. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Lila, Dmitri, and Gabe.

Donations may be made in Esther’s memory to The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation: https://team.curethekids.org/esther-itzkovitz

A Funeral Service for Esther was held on Sunday March 1, 2020 in the Chapel at Brooksby Village, Brooksby Village Dr., Peabody, MA 01960. Interment in Maple Hill Cemetery, Workman’s Circle, Peabody, MA.