Ema Lapidot

Ema was born Nema Feijielson, on or about September 12, 1931. No one knows her real birthday. Her dad, Samuel Feijielson, gave her that date when he registered her for school. She was the fourth of five children. She was born in Santa Fe, Argentina to parents who immigrated from Lithuania in the mid to late 1920’s. Ema was the valedictorian of her high school. One of her proudest moments was when she got to be the flag-bearer as a tribute to having the highest grades in her class. In the early 1950’s she was invited to go to a Zionist youth organization meeting with her girlfriend. There, she met the love of her life, the man she was married to for 51 years, Heine Lapidot. Ema married Heine on July 3, 1954. Shortly afterwards, they made Aliya to Israel, where they had two children, Amira and Nuriel. Ema went to the Midrasha to continue her education. In 1963, the family moved to the United States. Madi, the third child, was born in Buffalo, New York in 1964. At that time Ema returned to school to get the prerequisites for a college education. The family moved to the Albany, New York area where Heine worked for GE as a chemical engineer. While raising kids, cooking fabulous meals, and teaching Hebrew school, Ema worked on a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s, and ultimately a PhD in Spanish Literature. She became a professor at SUNY Albany, where she received many accolades for her teaching ability as well as for recruiting new students into the Spanish program through the high school program. As a PhD, she was invited to lecture at various universities such as Leipzig in Germany. Besides having a busy work life, Ema loved entertaining friends and guests at dinner parties. She also loved having the grandkids over for a couple of weeks each summer for Saba and Savta summer camp. They took the four oldest grandkids and brought them on hikes around Latham, to New York City, and many other local areas. When these kids got older, Ema and Heine took them to Israel, Argentina, and Europe. When Heine passed away from cancer in 2005, Ema moved to her own house in Pearland, Texas. There, she had the time of her life. No work, just play - mahjong, canasta, dominoes. You name it, she was in. And she was in to win! As was true for many older adults, the pandemic took a toll on Ema. Ema passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. It could be that she wanted to be with Heine for their 70th anniversary. A graveside service took place on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at Forest Park East Cemetery, 21620 Gulf Freeway, Webster, Texas 77598. The service was recorded and can be viewed here: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTcyMDQ4ODg0MDMxNzgwNyZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw== In lieu of flowers, donations in Ema's memory can be made to Congregation Shaar Hashalom, www.shaarhashalom.org, or Pathways of Northern Colorado, www.pathways-care.org.

Ema Lapidot

September 12, 1931 - July 2, 2024