Died March 23, 1939 – January 31, 1997
College: Silliman
Widow: Ms. Marcia S. Bernstein
8106 Middle Ct.
Austin, TX 78759
512-551-2461
917-520-9226 (mobile)
marciabernsteinreikimaster@gmail.com
www.MarciaBernstein.com
Children: Brenda, 1969; Abby Gostein, 1970
Grandchildren: Daniel Gostein, 1999; Aaron Gostein, 2002
Frank and I met in 1955 at Hyde Park High School in Chicago. Frank’s father and uncle (his father’s identical twin) had both graduated from Yale in 1926, and Yale was Frank’s clear college choice. Our first date, in December, 1957, marked the beginning of a largely long-distance courtship between New Haven and Chicago, with the exception of my freshman and sophomore years studying music at Connecticut College.
Frank majored in American Studies and was active at WYBC-FM, where I was a frequent visitor, occasionally singing station breaks for the classical music program he deejayed. I also met many of his classmates during those years.
We married in Chicago in 1962 after my junior year at Conn College. I finished my BA in Chicago and, later, my MA in Education of the Deaf at Teachers College, Columbia University. When our daughters Brenda (Brandy), YC 1991, and Abby, YC 1992, chose to go to Yale, it was beyond Frank’s dreams.
Frank’s career included marketing, advertising, urban development with the New York Urban Coalition and, in the years before his death, real estate management with Rose Associates, where he managed a publicly-subsidized cooperative apartment building on Roosevelt Island in New York City. A proud and loyal Yalie, he volunteered in many capacities, serving on various committees of the Association of Yale Alumni, including the Committee on Issues of Diversity; participating in several roles for his beloved class, including chairing the 30th Reunion; and chairing the Bronx Alumni Schools Committee, interviewing hundreds of Yale applicants from Bronx high schools.
In 1996 Frank was surprised and deeply touched when his classmates presented him with a tinted print of New Haven,and a framed proclamation honoring his service to his class. These pieces continue to hang on the wall in my Austin Townhome. Two endowments also honor his memory: an annual scholarship established by his classmates (I’ve had the pleasure of meeting each recipient) and a Bernstein Family Music Endowment funded primarily by many modest contributions to the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Living at Yale.
Frank and I attended every 1961 Class Reunion while he was alive, and I have been at the last two as well. I am a Reiki Master (www.MarciaBernstein.com), and I sing in several groups, including the Threshold Choir, which sings at bedsides for people in Hospice care.
Brenda (Brandy) lives in Madison, WI. She has a law degree from NYU and has her own business (www.TheEssayExpert.com) assisting people in writing school application essays, resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Abby has an MA in Speech-Language Pathology from UT at Austin and is Cantorial Soloist at a synagogue in Austin. She has produced a CD of her original Jewish music, “Each Blessing” (www.AbbyGostein.com), which includes a song dedicated to Frank’s memory, and she has had several songs published or selected to be performed at festivals and conferences. She and her husband Michael (PhD Physics, UT Austin) have two sons, Daniel Eli (11), and Aaron Lior (8).
—by Marcia (Simon) Bernstein
Because this CD includes a song I wrote in memory of my father, your classmate Frank Bernstein (see #11), I offer it to you as a gift. I hope you will find it meaningful as you remember him and others who are no longer with us.
Abby Gostein YC �92
Each Blessing
1. BLESSED ARE WE, B�RUCHIM HABA�IM -~ p
Dedicated to Congregation Sha’ aray Shalom, Hingham, MA
2. ANI L’DODI V’DODI LI – For Berta and Charles Gojer on their 50th wedding anniversary Hebrew text: Shir Hasbirim 6:3
3. L’CHU N’RAN’NA – Commissioned by the Women Cantors� Network, 2006 Hebrew text: Psalm 95:1-2
4. SH’MA – Text: Deuteronomy 6:4
5. MI CHAMOCHA – Text: Exodus 15:11, 15:2, 15:18, Jeremiah 3 1:10, Liturgy
6. V’SHAMRU – Text: Exodus 31:16-18
7. YISM’CHU – Text: Liturgy
8. MAY THE WORDS -YIH’YU L’RATZON – Hebrew text: Psalm 19:15
9. OSEH SHALOM – Text: Liturgy
10. ESA CHANFEI SHACHAR – In honor of Rabbi Stephen A. Karol Hebrew text: Psalm 139
11. THE BLESSING OF MEMORY – HAMAKOM Y’NACHEIM ETCHEM
Dedicated to the memory of my father, Frank Bernstein z”l
Adapted from a selection by Richard N. Levy from Gates of Prayer, � 1975 by the CCAR, used by permission
BONUS “UNPLUGGED” TRACKS
Guest Vocalist, Cantor Michael Smolash and Martha Mortensen Dugeon, Piano
12. R’TZEH Text: Liturgy- Keyboard arr: Jonathan Comisar
13. KOL YELED: THE BLESSING OF EACH CHILD
Commissioned by Cantor Michael and Denise Shochet
on the occasion of their son, Zachary�s, Bar Mitzvah
Hebrew: Translation of a Yiddish folk saying
English: Adapted from words by Michael Shochet
For translations and lyrics, go to www.abbvgostein.com.
To purchase CD’s, visit www.cdbaby.com/cdigostein or www.urjbooksandrnusic.c~~
Download mp3s at www.cdbaby.comlcdlgostein, www.oysongs.com, or from the iTunes store