Elaine Reva Steiger Orent

March 22, 1936 – December 25, 2024 28 Adar 5696 – 24 Kislev 5785 Elaine loved to laugh, dance in the living room, be theatrical, be silly and had the most joyful and beautiful smile one could imagine. She was born to Mollie (Fenster) and Samuel H. Steiger on March 22, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY. Her parents were already living in Stamford, CT but her mother wanted to give birth in Brooklyn in the hospital where she had delivered Arnold, Elaine's older brother. Elaine was named after her maternal grandmother, Esther Reva Fenster. She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and graduated from Stamford High School in 1954. She attended The University of Michigan and in 1956 transferred to Brooklyn College, CUNY. In 1957 she married Amnon Orent and thus began a life of travel and adventure. She gave birth to her daughter Aliza in Brooklyn, New York and to Leora in Tucson, Arizona. In Arizona she completed her BA in sociology from The University of Arizona, and during the time she lived in Window Rock, Arizona she worked for The Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1963 she and her family moved to Boston, Mass. where she completed an MLS degree in Library Science from Simmons College (1968). Through the years she worked in various libraries in New York; at the University of New Hampshire; and in Connecticut. While living in Israel she worked for Tel Aviv University and some years later in public relations for Beit Frankfurter (a day care center for senior citizens) in Jerusalem. She also helped establish the Jerusalem English Language Library. In 1965-67 she moved to Ethiopia with Amnon and the girls where she successfully taught Aliza kindergarten and first grade in a monitored distance learning program from The University of Maryland. After making Aliyah in 1971 (moving to Israel) and living in Israel for many years, she and her husband returned to the USA in 2007 to be near their daughters and grandsons in Austin, Texas. One of the highlights of her time in Austin was during the 2019-20 school year, at the Austin Jewish Academy where she read stories to the second graders. She never quite imagined that her life would take her from being a small town girl to a life filled with adventure and travel to far flung locations. She was an avid reader and usually had a stack of books next to her bed stand. She passed along her passion for books by teaching both of her daughters the wonders of literature and the beauty of reading. She was involved with Hadassah in every location she lived in and was a proud member of this important women's group. She leaves behind her beloved husband Amnon, daughters Aliza (Jennifer), Leora (Art), and grandsons 'Eylam, Eytan, Niv, Matan, and Lucas. Her sisters-in-law Tzippy (Rami), Rhoda, and multiple nieces and nephews. She will be missed by all that knew and loved her. Donations in Elaine's name may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or Hadassah Women's Organization. Funeral and burial services will be held tomorrow, Friday, 27 November @ 11:00 am @ Austin Memorial Park -- 2800 Hancock Dr. To stream the funeral, please go to the Austin Natural Funerals Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AustinNaturalFunerals. A Facebook account is not required in order to view. If a pop-up window appears asking you to log in, click "not now" and the live stream will be available for you to view. If the "not now" button does not appear, scroll down on the page and it will come up for you to select. The livestream will begin shortly before 11am.

Elaine Reva Steiger Orent

February 22, 1936 - December 25, 2024