Obituary of Edna Licht

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 4th 1919 to Benjamin and Eva Morris, she loved life and lived it whole-heartedly, learning, teaching, and contributing to making the world a better place. She married Edwin Leonard Licht in 1938, moved to Denver in 1945 and raised her two daughters, Alice Frankel (Jeffrey) of Cascais, Portugal and Jane Siegel of Pittsburgh, PA and managed to combine her studies and work as a teacher, while being a wonderful wife and mother. Edna earned a BA in Humanities, an MA in Elementary Education from the University of Denver, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa national honorary society. She did additional graduate studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL. She loved children, and teaching them. She taught at Wyatt and Park Hill Elementary schools and initiated pioneering work in teaching children to read. She became the reading supervisor for grades K-12 for the entire Denver Public School (DPS) System, and worked tirelessly to help other teachers succeed in teaching Denver's children. At the same time, she served as Assistant Director and teacher in Congregation Emanuel's religious school and was a founding member and teacher at Temple Sinai. After retiring from the DPS in 1979, she did volunteer work including: running the blood donor program at Rose Medical Center from 1980-88, President of Denver's Brandeis University Women's Committee and served on the National Board, being a docent for the Denver Public Libraries, and was a Unit Leader for the League of Women Voters, and the Denver chapter of Hadassah. Edna also is survived by beloved granddaughter, Rebekah Eve Siegel of Pittsburgh and several nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews. She was sustained in recent years by Mirella Schreiber of Jewish Family Service, faithful companions Evelyn Rose, Deborah Porter, and Freda Darden, Beth Nehamah Hospice professionals, wonderful neighbors Betty and John Dyer and many dear friends and helpers who enabled her to live independently. A Service to celebrate Edna's life will be held at Congregation Emanuel, 51 Grape Street on Wednesday, October 6th at 2:00 pm. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to: Denver Chapter of Hadassah, Congregation Emanuel, or Beth Nehamah Hospice.