Monica Protzel (Née Fanaberia)
(née Fanaberia)
Passed away quietly on Thursday, December 31, 2020, in New York. Devoted wife of Alan, mother of Leslie, Jeff, Pam, Wendy, and Peter, mother-in-law of Lumie, Dan, Ed, and Meredith, grandmother of Reina, Sam, Ethan, Alexandra, Mei, and Andrew, and caretaker to all those in her orbit.
Monica was born in Montréal, Canada to doting parents, Harold and Rachel Fanaberia, in 1933. She was a loving sister to Joan Bloom, Naomi Finkelstein, and Paul Fenton; sister-in-law to Hy Bloom and Michael Finkelstein; and Aunt to numerous nieces and nephews. Alan and Monica met in the summer of 1954 at Scaroon Manor, a resort in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. Alan deftly “rescued” Monica from the clutches of an All-American basketball player and the rest, as they say, is history. They married at the Sheraton Hotel in Montréal on October 16, 1955. Alan and Monica moved from Forest Hills to Memphis to Camden to the Bronx to Akron to Farmingdale, settling in Woodbury, NY where they raised their large family.
Three passions dominated Monica’s life: family, faith, and food. Monica devoted her life to her family – shepherding five children into adulthood, while also running Alan’s dental practice for over 30 years. She was engaged intimately in the educational, religious, and family life of all five children. Monica was a distinguished long-time member of various PTAs, and, with Alan, helped start a school advocacy group in the 1970s .
Monica and Alan were longtime members and contributors to North Shore Synagogue – attending services weekly. Monica was a member of various school and synagogue committees, and she was given the great honor of speaking about her spiritual journey from Montréal to New York in front of the entire congregation in 2017.
Her interest in cooking and entertaining was legendary in her family and friend circle – her famous gefilte fish recipe was published in Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America, and she was one of the main contributors to a fundraising cookbook, From Syosset with Love, for the children’s high school.
Monica’s strength, generosity, and compassion shined throughout her life and will be greatly missed.
A service and burial will be held privately. We hope to have a celebration of her life later in 2021.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Monica’s memory may be made to the North Shore Synagogue, 83 Muttontown Eastwoods Road, Syosset, NY 11791 or the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024.
2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Monica Protzel Nee Fanaberia 2021..
Décès pour la Ville: Montreal, Province: Quebec