Jay Waxenberg, teacher and principal, dies
An undated photo of Jay Waxenberg, a teacher and administrator in the Great Neck school district for almost 40 years. Credit: Handout
Jay Waxenberg of Bethpage, a teacher and administrator in the Great Neck school district for almost 40 years whose life was marked by a love of learning and travel, died Friday at Atria Assisted Living in Plainview. He was 88.
He was born in New York City and attended public schools there before earning a degree at Brooklyn College, relatives said.
Waxenberg taught in Deer Park before going to work in Great Neck, where he was a teacher, principal and director of special services. In his last position, he developed a Head Start program for students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the 1960s.
After retiring 24 years ago, he taught English as a second language in Great Neck and ceramics in a Saturday recreation program in Bethpage.
"He loved gardening, music, art, travel and photography," said his daughter, Tina Levine of Merrick. "He was a great drummer" who played in a swing band as a teen.
While a widower, he met his future wife of 23 years, Betty, after they were introduced by mutual friends. They agreed to meet for the first time at the Jones Beach flagpole. She wore a flower in her hair and he sported a feather in his hat so they would recognize each other, she said.
They liked each other immediately and began what would be a string of global travels with a trip to the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal. Being a bit old-fashioned, Betty Waxenberg said, it made them uncomfortable to travel together with different names on their passports.
She said one of his grandchildren told him, "You love Betty, why don't you marry her?" and the couple tied the knot.
Over the next two decades they visited, among other places, South America, Africa, Israel, China, Thailand, India, Nepal and Alaska.
A trip to the canals of Holland and Belgium inspired "Riverboat Escapades," one of the seven books he wrote. None were published, Betty Waxenberg said, but she had them bound. His other titles included "Golda's Dream," about his Russian immigrant mother, and "Private War Stories," an account of his service in the Army Signal Corps in Europe during World War II.
"We had a very good marriage," said Betty Waxenberg, who, like her husband, was a teacher. "We never stopped and he had a good partner who was interested in the same kinds of things."
Besides his daughter and wife, he is survived by a son, Fred Waxenberg of Merrick; two stepchildren, Andrew Herlich of Pittsburgh and Hinda Rubano of Bayside; and nine grandchildren, four from Betty's previous marriage.
The funeral will be at Gutterman's in Woodbury, Wednesday at 10 a.m. followed by burial at New Montefiore Cemetery in Pinelawn.
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