Dr. Irene Moss Lober, a resident of Lake Mary, passed away on March 28, 2022. A daughter of Brooklyn, Irene was one of five children raised by loving parents Beckie (Belanka) and David Moss. She was predeceased by her siblings, Albert, Caroline, Louis and Harold.
She met the love of her life, Sol, while selling war bonds in the City College of New York cafeteria when Sol returned from WWII to study on the GI bill. He knew from the moment he met her that she was his intended and proposed six weeks later. They were married for 66 years before his passing in 2013. Their life together was defined by courage and accomplishment.
With three young children, Irene entered the workforce as a teacher and librarian in 1962 following a life-changing stroke suffered by Sol. An unintentional matriarch, she embarked on a distinguished career in education, receiving her masters in 1967 and her doctorate in 1974. She was a respected classroom teacher and principal and became the first woman public school superintendent in the state of Missouri in 1977. Her next superintendency led her to the Danbury CT public schools where she worked from 1981-1985. She retired as Professor Emerita and Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Business Administration at SUNY, New Paltz.
A sought-after lecturer, speaker, author and thought leader, she was a member of the legal and studies group at the National Institute for Education at HEW, a national advisory board member of the University of Wisconsin Research and Development Center, a board advisor to Saint Joseph's Institute for the Deaf, President of the advisory cabinet of the Greater St. Louis Girl Scouts, and a Board of Directors member of the Danbury Council American Heart Association. She served as a trustee of United Way on its Executive Board in Connecticut and New York. She held leadership positions in myriad professional organizations.
Active in Jewish life, she served as both President of the Temple Israel Sisterhood and on its Board of Directors for several years. She was President of the Rishona-Chavaret group, Orlando chapter of Hadassah from 2005-2008. She received the National Leadership Award from Hadassah in 2005.
Perhaps her greatest honor was becoming the first woman to receive the prestigious Townsend Harris medal from the City College of New York on the 100th anniversary of its inception for her significant contribution to the field of education.
She routinely described her greatest accomplishment as her children, Dr Clifford Lober (Randee), Richard Lober (who predeceased her) and Lori Lober (Robert Schmidt). Her grandchildren Neal (Brittany) and Bryan (Rebecca) brought her immense pride, and she was delighted by her beautiful great-granddaughters, Caroline and Emma. A devoted wife, loving mother and admired leader, she will be remembered for her strength, commitment to her family and purposeful life.
Expressions of sympathy can be made in Dr. Lober's memory to either
Hadassah PO Box 1100, New York NY 10268-1100 Hadassah.org
The Yiddish Book Center 1021 West Street Amherst MA 01002 Yiddishbookcenter.org
