Eliane Félicité Sandler (née Adamski) died peacefully at home in Bloomfield, Connecticut on July 6, 2023 of renal cell carcinoma. She leaves her husband, Dr. Larry Zemel; daughters Danielle Sandler, Shiri Sandler, and Jessie Ray; daughter in-law Katherine Sizelove and sons-in-law Chris Barthel and James Ray; stepsons Josh, Michael (Amy), and Noah Zemel; and her precious grandchildren, Sylvie, Jonas, and Owen.

Born on July 27, 1947 in Paris to Holocaust survivors Gisela Adamski (née Sachs) and Severyn (Shmeryl) Adamski, Eliane was raised in Israel until her family emigrated to Queens, New York, in 1956. The beloved only child to her parents, Eliane was given their apartment’s sole bedroom when she turned 13. She was a special education teacher who started teaching in 1971 when all special ed students were taught in one room together. In her teaching years, she met many of the dear friends she would keep beside her throughout her life. As a retiree, Eliane worked with adult English Language Learners; she loved teaching and treasured her lifetime of students, keeping their letters until her death. Her parents had raised her in the nascent national Holocaust commemoration community, and Eliane kept that legacy alive. She raised her daughters in Greenwich, CT, where she was a leader in developing local Holocaust commemoration, and moved to Bloomfield, CT, in 2010, where she was a founding board member of Voices of Hope. Eliane loved the community she built in Bloomfield, where she was an energetic tennis partner, an insightful book club member, a well-known daughter to her mother, and a dear friend.

Eliane was known for her brief, impressive stint in stand-up comedy, her unerring ability to use any fruit or vegetable as the perfect prop, being able to tell exactly what was happening to one of her “pearly girlies'' just by the way they said hello on the phone, her devotion to recommending books, her deep belief in giving all visitors fruit salad to take with them, and her perfectionism about the laundry and cloth napkins. She was Larry’s camping, canoeing, and tennis partner and forever sweetheart. Her family and friends will carry forward their memories of looking together at the ocean or the pool - instead of being in it; her questionable belief that a “combo-bombo” was better than a recipe; her adventure approach to all trips, including life; and the songs she made up that we never knew weren’t real. Her spirit will live on, felt when her friends see a beautiful flower growing, found in her grandson's love of plants, smiling every time Larry says "bonus daughters", kindling with every lighting of the Shabbat candles, and forever in her daughters' knowledge that we were loved thiiiiis much.

The funeral will be held on Sunday, July 9 at 1 p.m. at Temple Sinai in Newington, CT, with burial immediately following; family and friends are invited to gather at the Zemler home following the burial, at 34 Cary Lane in Bloomfield. Please see the "events" tab for information on shiva on Monday and Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Anti-Defamation League at www.adl.org. 

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