Mary S. Dinerstein

Mary S. Dinerstein of Flemington, New Jersey, died Wednesday, June 27, 2012, at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, New Jersey. She was 93.

Mary was born in Chicago, Illinois, September 26, 1918, to Leo Schoenbrun and Agatha Felsenthal Schoenbrun. She graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. She then went on to Scripps College in Claremont, California, and to the Art Institute of Chicago, pursuing her interest in painting, and in particular, watercolors. In 1942, she married her husband, Robert A. Dinerstein.

After World War II, she and her husband eventually settled in Park Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she devoted herself to raising her three children. She also began a career in education, receiving a B. A. degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago and then teaching elementary school in Park Forest. Her interest in education led her to join the staff of the Erikson Institute of Early Childhood Education, an organization instrumental in developing the Head Start Program. At the same time, Mary continued her interest in the arts, turning to weaving and spinning, which included working as a consulting designer for a local fabric manufacturer.

When her husband retired, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. They also resided part of the year in Sarasota, Florida, and at their beloved cottage in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Upon her husband’s death in 2008, Mary moved to Independence Manor, Flemington, New Jersey.

Mary is survived by her son, Robert and his wife, Annie of Flemington, NJ; daughter Susan Perri and her husband, Alfonso of Branchburg, NJ; daughter-in-law, Anita K. Dinerstein of St. Paul, Minnesota. Her loving family also includes three granddaughters; Ellen D. Werlin and her husband Jonathan; Rachel D. Geballe and her husband Benjamin and Katherine A. Perri. She was pre-deceased in 2008 by her husband of sixty-seven years, Robert A. Dinerstein and by her son, James E. Dinerstein.

Graveside services will be held at Temple Israel Memorial Park, Minneapolis, MN. Information concerning the services will be available from Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapel in Minneapolis. (612) 871-1234. Donations requested in lieu of flowers may be made to: The Mary Dinerstein and Robert Dinerstein Family and Children fund c/o the Jewish Federation of St. Paul, 790 S. Cleveland Avenue, St. Paul. MN 55116 or to The Wellfleet Conservation Trust, PO Box 84, Wellfleet, MA 02667.

Local arrangements are under the direction of the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information, or to send condolences.