Obituary: Jewel Eisenstein Hirsch - Atlanta Jewish Times

Jewel “Julie” Eisenstein Hirsch, died Thursday morning, Nov. 14, 2024 at age 88 at Sullivan House in Marietta, Ga. Julie was an interesting and interested individual and an exemplary educator. A gifted performer and raconteur, she connected with real meaning to an audience, be it school children, her congregation, her adult b’nai mitzvah classes or people transitioning through job changes.

A lover of books, knowledge and history, she amassed a treasured library that was a true source of pride. World travels with her beloved husband, Norman, centered around a thirst for knowledge and experiences. These travels and her reading and study lead to an in-depth knowledge of Jews and Judaism around the world and across history that she readily shared enriching Jewish lives.

The daughter of Dr. Morris and Mrs. Marian Eisenstein, Julie was born in New York and grew up in the surrounding areas of New York and New Jersey. The eldest of three girls, her two younger siblings, Leah Kaplan and Marcie (Dolly) Brensilver, straightened the lines in her hose as she left for dates, and remained attentive in her last year, calling to check on her regularly to ensure she was well cared for and remembered despite living far away.

Julie had a rabid love of baseball from an early age – cutting school with her best friend to go to the Polo Grounds on ladies’ day to watch the New York Giants. She kept a score card for every game, and if born in a different era would have made an outstanding female baseball announcer. She became a Mets fan when the Giants left town and when the Mets 1973 World Series coincided with her family’s move from Paramus to Woodcliff Lake, N.J., she had the movers set up one chair, one table and one TV as she watched the game and directed traffic as the movers brought in the belongings! Today, her grandson, Jason, carries on the mantle of Mets fan, while her other grandson, Michael, is a wiz with baseball statistics. This made her very happy indeed.

Julie graduated with honors from SUNY Potsdam in 1957 and went on to teach English, history and enclosed classroom. Her family was living in Bergenfield, N.J., in December of 1957 when Norman G. Hirsch went to an informal party of young Jewish college grads in someone’s parents’ finished basement in Teaneck, N.J. Standing with his sister, Gail, he noticed a young woman slowly descending the stairs. He didn’t know she was walking slowly because she wouldn’t wear her eyeglasses! After a minute or so. he turned to his sister and said, “You see that girl coming down the stairs? I’m going to marry her.”

Six months later, he did exactly that. Norman and Julie were married for 59 years before Norman passed in 2017.

Julie and Norman’s first home was in Paramus, N.J., where they had their two children, Abby and Jonathan. Part of a vibrant community of friends that were like family to their kids (even called aunts and uncles), they enjoyed a life filled with family, traditions, music, play and creative travel on a budget. Known to say, “the same dollar can only dance in so many places,” Julie was the queen of stretching that dollar to cover whatever her family needed while Norman built a successful career.

The family moved to Woodcliff Lake in a home they had built, and Julie embarked on another career of her own, that as a professional folk singer. She practiced and rehearsed with true dedication and honed her craft, performing at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, Hadassah luncheons and for the public schools. Weaving stories throughout her performances, she drew in and delighted her audiences.

In addition, she renewed her love of teaching and became a Jewish educator – first teaching religious school classes at Temple Sinai in Tenafly, N.J., becoming principal of a religious school in Closter, and then studying to become a para-rabbinic fellow. Since then, she has led services, performed weddings, presided over funerals, taught adult b’nai-mitzvah classes, taught comparative religion, and started and ran a vibrant temple choir.

Julie also lent her skills to working with adults in career transition as a workshop leader/consultant and career center manager with Drake Beam Morin, at the time, the world’s third-largest provider of career transition and talent development services.

Norman and Julie were blessed with two loving children who married two loving and caring spouses. Abby Hirsch Phillips and her husband, Steve, and Jonathan Ilan Hirsch and his wife, Sheryl, gave Julie four precious now adult grandchildren, Jason Price, Michael Hirsch, Talia Price and Lindsay Hirsch. Norman and Julie would take these beloved children on trips both close to home and around the world, introducing them to wonders. Each grandchild remained a great source of pride and joy in Julie’s life. In 2023, Jason and his wife, Haley, whom Julie adored, gave birth to the best gift of all, a great-grandchild, Emmett Noa Price. Each visit with Emmett would bring such joy to Julie who always delighted in being surrounded by young people. Also surviving are her sisters and brother-in-law, Leah Kaplan and Howard and Marcie (Dolly) Brensilver, sister-in-law, Gail Cohen, and nieces and nephews.

Julie and Norman retired to Savannah in 1991, building a dream home designed by Norman. Julie purchased a beautiful ebony baby grand that she placed in the living room in front of two-story windows overlooking the intracoastal tidal marsh. She said she felt as if she was playing on the prow of a ship. That home and that view was Julie’s favorite place she’d ever lived, and it stayed with her in her heart always.

Once in Savannah, they joined and became active in Congregation Mickve Israel. Some of the greatest joys of Julie’s life revolved around Mickve Israel and its congregation. After Norman passed, Abby moved Julie to Atlanta to be closer to her. Julie started a new chavurah and choir at her assisted living facility and made lovely new friends, but she always missed her Savannah congregational family. She was honored and celebrated for her contributions at a wonderful service just this past year when Jason and Talia took her back to Savannah for a special visit.

Julie passed peacefully at Sullivan House Senior Living being lovingly cared for by an amazing staff that continually went above and beyond. Her whole family is eternally grateful for their help in making Julie’s final days and transition as warm and loving, Jewish and comfortable as possible. In lieu of a formal memorial service, an online service will be held via Zoom after the new year conducted by Rabbi Robert W. Haas. Additionally, an online memorial site has been set up. We welcome you to visit and share your memories of Julie: https://www.online-tribute.com/JulieHirsch

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Julie Hirsch, the following two charities were of great importance to her and can be found online: https://www.jdc.org and https://www.fidf.org.

Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

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