Miriam Gelfand
GELFAND, RIKOFF, IFLAND, LAND
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 2/5/2022 at 08:05:30
Miriam Gelfand passed away peacefully Jan. 3, 2022 at the Oaknoll Retirement Residence with family present. Born March 20,1925 in Harbin, China to Russian Jewish lineage, Miriam grew up in Shanghai, China from 1930-1946 and attended French Schools. She graduated from St. John’s University in Shanghai and worked as an analyst for Standard Oil in Shanghai upon graduation. Miriam immigrated to the United States in 1946 to attend the University of Washington for graduate school, where she studied Linguistics and met her future husband, Lawrence. They were married in Seattle on June 14, 1953.
Miriam’s worldview was shaped by her history in a turbulent world. Her family had escaped Russian pogroms to resettle in China. Life there was exceedingly difficult through the depression years and the Japanese occupation. Her becoming a US citizen in 1956 meant everything to her and she was committed to human rights for the remainder of her life.
A devoted teacher, translator and talented multilingual editor, Miriam retired from the University of Iowa after teaching Russian from 1962-1993. She also taught at the University of Wyoming from 1959-1962, University of Hawaii from 1957-58 and the University of Washington from 1949-1954. She had an unbelievable way of bonding with her students and maintained many long-term relationships with them. Miriam was also an Assistant Dean and academic adviser in the University of Iowa Liberal Arts Dean's Office and at the Athletic Department. She was instrumental in assisting former athletes return to college to obtain their degrees. She worked with many scientists at the University translating their work to share with Russian colleagues and to give them insights into research that was released in Russian. One of her last projects was co-editing and overseeing the publication of her husband's final book, on world dictators, published in 2019. A member of Congregation Agudas Achim, Miriam was active in many non-profit organizations. Since 2006, Miriarn had resided at Oaknoll.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Rikoff Ifland and her husband, Lawrence. She is survived by her children, Julia (David Lang) of Irvine, California, Daniel of Palm Springs, California, and Ronald (Jean) of Denver, Colorado, and one grandson, Benjamin, and extended family and many friends around the world.
On April 24, there will be a celebration of Miriam’s life at Oaknoll Retirement Residence. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Oaknoll Foundation, 1 Oaknoll Court, Iowa City, IA 52246; to Congregation Agudas Achim, 401 E Oakdale Blvd, Coralville, IA 52241; or to a charity of your choice. The family wants to acknowledge the special compassionate care Miriam received at Oaknoll over the last year.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen