Paula Kranish Stern
PAULA KRANISH STERN died on Tuesday, July 8 at home, at peace and surrounded by love.
Paula was the anchor for her friends and family—family by blood and family by choice. So many people relied on her for guidance, support, advice, and love. The quintessential New Yorker, she delighted in opening her home to family and friends, many of whom came and stayed with her for extended lengths of time. She loved sharing New York’s theaters, museums, restaurants, and subways with people who were dear to her, especially her grandchildren, and she navigated the city as a master. She will be remembered for her style and elegance, her strength and courage in the face of adversity, and her graceful sense of fun and adventure. She had a lifelong commitment to progressive values and justice, and her commitments and activism reflected an abiding belief in (and worry for) America.
She traveled extensively throughout her life with fortunate travel partners. First she explored the United States and then the world, including Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, Thailand, China, Australia, Mexico, the Caribbean, France, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, and multiple excursions to Israel.
Paula was born on July 17, 1940, in New York, the daughter of Abraham and Dorothy Kranish. Raised in Queens, her family were founding members of Temple Isaiah in Forest Hills, where she became the first Bat Mitzvah in the synagogue’s history.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Emerson College. In her forties, she returned to school for her MSW from Columbia University, which she followed up with advanced certifications and a license as a clinical social worker with a specialty in trauma counseling.
In 1985, Paula married the love of her life, Dr. Fred Stern, in a “surprise” wedding ceremony to the delight of her family and friends. Fred died in 1997 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
Paula was the beloved mother of Heidi Gold and her husband Rabbi Neal Gold of Natick, MA and Dr. Devora Lieberman and her husband John van der Wallen of Avalon, Australia; sister of Michael Kranish of Las Vegas, NV; and grandmother of Avi and Jeremy Gold. In addition, she is deeply beloved by an extended family of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, friends, and colleagues.
The funeral will be on Sunday, July 13, at 11:00 AM at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon, Long Island, followed by shiva at the Hilton Brooklyn Hotel, 140 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, through 9:00 PM.
The family will continue to sit shiva at the home of Heidi and Neal Gold, 24 Pauline Drive, Natick, MA, on Tuesday and Wednesday 1:00-4:00 and 7:00-9:00 PM, with minyanim at 8:30 PM.
Friends are encouraged to honor Paula’s memory with Tzedakah contributions to The Good People Fund (www.goodpeoplefund.org) or the Kavod Tzedakah Collective (www.kavod.org).
Her memory will always be a blessing to everyone who knew and loved her.