Dorothy Auslander

In addition to her husband, Dorothy is survived by her three children, Elaine (Leon) Pollack, Roberta (Warren) Schneider, and Charles Auslander (Zara Gerber); her five grandchildren, Melissa (Matthew) Goldstein, Jessica (Brian) Brendell, Blythe (Adam) Jeckel, Abigail (Joshua) Klein and Zachary Auslander; her five great grandchildren, Jacob and Lily Goldstein, Julia and Emma Brendell and Reuben Klein, on whom she doted; her brother, Robert (Florence) Melamed; and many nieces and nephews. All loved her deeply and will miss her terribly.

Dorothy was born in the Bronx, New York, to the late Frank and May Melamed. The family later moved to Queens where Dorothy graduated from Queens College. She became fluent in three languages, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and later became conversant in Italian on visits to Italy. After college, Dorothy put her language skills to work at an import-export company in Manhattan.

Dorothy met Joe on a blind date. From that moment, he was the most special man in her world and she was the most beautiful, wonderful woman in his. Theirs was a marriage of deep love and true understanding. As a young couple, they moved into a little house in Plainview, in one of the many suburban developments that sprang up on Long Island after World War II, where they made a pretty, happy home to raise their three children. The family later moved to Englewood Cliffs, NJ. After Joe’s retirement, the couple bought a beachfront condo in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL, and in recent years relocated to West Palm Beach, FL.

Dorothy loved nothing better than family. She was always there to support, care and nurture. She was a devoted wife and mother and a talented and creative homemaker, equally at home hosting a large extended family gathering or a business dinner, where she often charmed foreign guests with a delicious, home-cooked meal and her facility with their language.

As an accomplished linguist, Dorothy enjoyed frequent business and pleasure travel with her husband to many parts of the globe. In retirement, the couple took frequent cruises.

For years, Dorothy had knitting needles in her hands every time she sat down. Her hand-knit creations greeted every newborn in the family and kept everybody fashionably warm. Ever practical, when she had skeins of leftover yarn, she crocheted them into squares and created bright, colorful afghans. In recent years, she turned to beading, making lovely fashion necklaces.

Dorothy loved reading, especially mysteries, was a whiz at crossword puzzles, and had an impressive vocabulary and encyclopedic recall of facts, which she regularly used to beat contestants on Jeopardy! to the answers as she watched. She often used sayings to impart practical wisdoms that helped guide her family through challenges.

Dorothy will live on in our hearts because she left us with a wonderful legacy of love, wisdom and strength. A small graveside funeral with video conference participation by those close family members who were unable to attend was held on July 3. We look forward to a time when we all can be together to celebrate Dorothy’s beautiful life.