-Arielle Hendel, my sister, gave the following eulogy at our mother’s funeral. Sorry for the typos

Our Mom, Eva Doreen Katz Orlow – Eve, Oma, Boo-boo, Tante BooBoo was born in Washington Heights NY to Lotte & Alfred Katz on December 27, 1939. The Katzes moved to Philadelphia and added Rachel to their family and a life-long bond started. Eve only spoke German until she started primary school – her relationship to her Yekkish side and her immigrant parents formed a lot of her early personality. In her younger years, Eve was active in sports – especially jump roping and horseback riding, and an avid reader and inquisitive learner. The Katzes often housed family members who had survived the Holocaust and memories of shared room and the guests’ nightmares echoed throughout her life.

Eva and Rachel were sent off to Camp Summit Lake where she eventually crushed on one of the counselors, Jim. When Jim called her in June 1961, she was thrilled and they had a whirlwind romance and married three months on August 27, 1961. Jim encouraged Eva to continue her studies and he was an avid supporter of her academic and professional career.

Eve graduated high school from Girls High and completed her first two years of college at Penn State and completed her BA at Temple. She went on to get her Masters as a Reading Specialist and then her Doctorate in Education in Psychology also from Temple. She completed her Post Masters in Psychology from University of Pennsylvania. Mom earned these degrees while raising the four of us and extending her energies to many philanthropic and civic organizations. In the interest of time, here are a list of some of the many, many organizations which she was instrumental and part of the leadership: the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Narberth Peace Association, Chavura Movement and the Library Minyan, Jewish Federation, Akiba now Barrack Academy, Ramah, Massad Camps, Jewish Agency for Israel, Hebrew Female Benevolent Society, Martins Run, Solomon Schechter Day School, the Admissions Committee at Columbia University, Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Orot, and ELI Israel. There will be stories shared about some of these involvements here at also, at the shiva.

When Eve and Jim first married in 1961, our father was in the Navy and they were stationed in Havre de Grace. Our mother was the teacher for the first integrated interracial classroom and she was threatened and harassed to the point where she was afforded national guards for her escort to and from school. Her bravery was even more impressive since she was so petite. Her stature never stopped her from fighting for the causes and people she held dear.

Professionally, Eve worked at the Philadelphia College of Arts and then went into private practice as a therapist. Her private practice focused on forensic custody cases. Eve became the head of licensure for Psychology for the State of Pennsylvania and she was also the head of the Ethics committee for the Board of Psychology. She was instrumental in reforming the custody procedures in the state which set rates and assessment practices for the family divorces. The new process evened the playing field for parents and took the assessments directly to the court and judges. The process also required both judges and psychologists to partake in ethics courses in this area.

Our mom liked pretty things – jewelry, art , glass, wood, ceramics – she could find the most exquisite items and nothing was beyond her. She negotiated with Chihuly’s head of studio to get original paintings, she and Jim befriended the Nakashimas and had special jeweler friends. When she set her sights on a special object d’art, she would often pay over the course of several months or years to acquire the items. They brought her much joy and were hard earned victories for her establishing her success.

I would be remiss if I did not mention her interest in dogs and horses. She always had at least one dog, often two and she doted on them – sometimes even spoiled them. She was adamant that Daniel and I learn to show dogs and all of us to ride horse – those are stories for another time too.

Finally, our mom was a convener – a community builder. She gathered people to her home and her table – down the shore on Long Beach Island, in the Poconos, in the Berkshires or in Philadelphia. She loved hosting and gladly took over the Shabbat dinners from her parents once they moved to their home in Penn Valley. But even early in their marriage, my mother perfected delicious meals much to the delight of all of our father’s business partners. Once in their home in Hagys Ford Road, the Shabbat and holiday meals often hosted more than 25 people. Eve definitely passed her love of cooking and creating community onto all of her children – even though or perhaps because we had to try out all of the Schechter cookbook recipes.

Our mom was smart and funny, fierce and feisty, loving and exacting – may her memory be a blessing to all who knew her and are linked to her through family, love and friendship. Her legacy is her family – her sister, Rachel, her four children and their partners and children, her niece and nephew and their spouses and children, her cousins and their partners and their children and her friends who are the family she chose. We all have stories of Eve and we hope that you share them at the shiva this week.

• Another Minute: Daniel’s Eulogy for Our Mother
• The Owl and Pussycat: Michael’s Eulogy for our Mother
• Mother of All: My Eulogy for My Mother