Alegria Bendelac, 91, of Kew Gardens, NY died on April 5th of natural causes. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, she grew up in Tangier, Morocco moving to New York in 1963. She was the daughter of Abraham and Rachel Bendayan and was the last surviving of 5 siblings. Her husband of 48 years, Raphaël Bendelac, passed in 2002. Her two daughters, Mercedes and Lisa survive her.
Alegria was a teacher in the Lycée Français de New York, Fordham University and Penn State University where she was a full professor. She achieved a PhD from Columbia University in 1972. She published several books including works of poetry. In recognition she was awarded the Palmes Académique (1972) and received the International Who’s Who in Poetry Award (1977).
Besides her family and teaching Alegria had a passion for dark chocolate, the color blue and most of all the ballet for which she performed and took classes into her mid-80s.
