Elaine Rubin

Elaine was born on July 23, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York to Max and Claire Feldman. She and her older brother Jerry grew up in Williamsburg, where Elaine got an early start singing in her school’s choir and developed her beautiful voice. As a young woman, she met her first husband, Lester Wagman, a musician who was in a band with her brother. In 1964 and 1967, respectively, she gave birth to their beloved daughters Heidi and Marla.

Elaine’s marriage to Les marked the start of her professional career as a singer. Together, they performed at weddings and bar mitzvahs. Each summer and winter, they traveled to the Catskill Mountains with their band to perform at the Concord Resort Hotel, where they became a well-known featured act. In 1971, they moved to South Florida, where they continued doing weddings and bar mitzvahs and expanded their business to include shows at prominent Miami Beach hotels. They also cut their first album “King of the Condominiums.” Although Elaine sang a broad range of standards, she was renowned in the Jewish community for her Yiddish music. Elaine could seldom go anywhere in South Florida without being recognized. Indeed, long after she retired, people would stop her on the street to share a story about how she had performed at a meaningful event in their life.

In her fifties, after her divorce, Elaine met the love of her life when a mutual friend set her up on a blind date with Milton Rubin. Elaine and Milton married in 1986. During their nearly 40 years of marriage, Milton was Elaine’s dance partner, roadie, loving husband, and #1 fan. For most of their life together, Elaine and Milton lived in Aventura, Florida in a beautiful apartment overlooking the Turnberry golf course. Together, they had a full and joyful life: seeing shows, dining out, listening to music, socializing with friends, and spending time with their many children and grandchildren. She never missed a graduation, recital, performance, or other special event.

Throughout her life, Elaine was a most proud and loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her devotion and never-ending adoration will be missed by all whose lives she touched.

Elaine was predeceased by her brother Jerry and is survived by her husband Milton Rubin; her daughter Heidi Wagman, son-in-law Peter B. Bensinger, Jr., and their daughters Sammy and Allie; her daughter Marla Wagman Maisel, son-in-law Bruce, and their daughter Mia; her stepson Scott Surut, his wife Nancy, and their children Donovan, Delaini, and Sydney; her stepson Shawn Rubin, his wife Amanda, and their daughter Sadie; her stepdaughter Joy Rubin, her husband Greg, her children Whitney, Taylor, and Haley, and Whitney’s children Sedona and Rome, and Haley’s daughter Hazel; and countless friends and other extended family members.

In lieu of flowers, please consider tribute donations to Chicago Sinai Congregation - Blessings in a Backpack (https://www.chicagosinai.org/donate; under “Payment Details” please select “Sinai Initiative: Blessings in a Backpack”) or Children’s Research Fund (https://www.childrensresearchfund.org/donate_general).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.starofdavidfuneralchapel.com for the Rubin family.