Mildred Hanzel Lavin
LAVIN, HANZEL, ROGERS, SMELLIE, MACLEOD, NELSON, BROOKS, LEWIS
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 2/23/2022 at 07:48:36
Mildred Hanzel Lavin’s life began in Boston, Massachusetts in 1924 and ended in West Branch, Iowa on February 12, 2022.
Throughout her 97 years Mildred remained enormously grateful to her parents, Marcus and Rose Hanzel, for leaving Eastern Europe to make a new life in the United States. After settling in Chicago, Mildred’s parents insisted their young children speak only English and not act like “greenhorns”. Her parents, however, reverted to speaking Yiddish or German when discussing private matters. Thus, Mildred and her brother Sam grew up knowing a fair amount of both forbidden languages.
At 17, Mildred was watching her young sister Joan play in a neighborhood park when a slender young man with dark, wavy hair and a heart-throb smile approached. That initial spark of mutual attraction led to deep love, shared life goals, a marriage of 52 years, three children, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Mildred’s marriage to Marve Lavin was a true partnership and the focal point of her life until he died in 1997.
Like many first-generation Americans, Mildred knew that education was key to achievement. While raising two sons, Tom and Jack, and a daughter, Amy, Mildred worked with Marve in their retail furniture business while attending night school. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Science Education and taught junior high science in Chicago area schools. After years of work and family life, Mildred and Marve began a new adventure. They moved to Iowa City and began the PhD program in Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Iowa. They fell in love with Iowa City and the graduate student experience. The couple’s pursuit of higher education was rewarded with faculty positions upon graduation.
From 1971 to 1987, Mildred served as Assistant Professor in the College of Education Division of Continuing Education. She initiated the Saturday and Evening Class Program and the Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree to meet the needs of non-traditional students like she had been. Mildred worked enthusiastically to advance the position of women, both in the University and in society.
Mildred was active in Business and Professional Women, Iowa Women’s Foundation, American Pen Women, Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, The University Club Writer’s Group, and the University of Iowa’s Memoir Writers Group. She developed cherished friendships in each of these groups, continuing to learn and grow from those she admired. But in truth, she also developed friendships with neighbors, hair stylists, doctors and dentists, her children’s friends, and anyone else whose path met hers. Her diversity of friends fed her diversity of knowledge, as she joyfully shared in the interests of the people in her life.
To enjoy a good life like Mildred did she would encourage you to be GRATEFUL. Be grateful for love, for family, for learning, for living in the United States with its opportunities and protections of liberty. And if you are lucky enough to live in Iowa City, for goodness’ sake, be grateful for that! She would also tell you to BE A MENSCH. This Yiddish word encourages us to strive for integrity, to be generous, forgiving and kind. By Mildred’s generous hospitality, opening her door to those who would enjoy a cup of tea, a potluck gathering or a frozen pizza and a giant salad, she brightened her corner of the world. Finally, be generous with sincere COMPLIMENTS because… why not?
Mildred’s family finds joy in remembering her life but her departure brings sadness, especially to her sons, Tom (Amelia) Lavin of Vancouver, B.C. and Jack (Jeane Rogers) Lavin of Victoria, B.C. and her daughter, Amy (Mark) Smellie of Iowa City. According to Mildred, all of her beloved grandchildren were The Greatest. That includes Ashley Lavin, Lisa Lavin, Jeremy (Rena) MacLeod, Jordan (Jenna Nelson) Smellie, Carolyn (Nathan) Brooks, Julia Smellie, Jamie Lavin, Reuben Lavin, Lola Lavin and great grandsons Cohen and Judah Brooks. She will be remembered by her sister, Joan Deet Lewis, her sister-in-law, Virginia Hanzel, and by her six nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Lavin and her brother, Samuel Hanzel.
A gathering to honor Mildred’s life will be held on March 20 from 2 to 4 PM at The Kirkwood Room, 515 Kirkwood Avenue, Iowa City. A time to share memories will be from 3 to 3:30 PM. An opportunity to view online will be found through a link on the Lensing Funeral Service web site. If you’d like, memorial contributions may be sent directly to Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, 2401 Scott Blvd, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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