Paula Ruth Karchmer's Obituary
Longtime elementary and music teacher Paula Karchmer died Nov 23 after living with Alzheimer’s. The disease never dimmed her upbeat personality. Until less than a year ago, she delighted her assisted living community in Scottsdale by playing piano and singing tunes from the Great American Songbook—all without the aid of sheet music.
A Tucson Unified School District teacher for 20 years, she loved teaching K-2 students. She wrote musical productions based on fairy tales, many of which were adopted and performed in Tucson and beyond. Her special talent was honored when she became a music mentor, inspiring other teachers to share music with their students.
Born in Springfield, Illinois on May 25, 1922 to Ann and David Leventhal, Paula spent much of her childhood in Utica, NY. Her father’s career as a manager of department stores, moved the family to Wilmington, DE, for Paula’s last year of high school.
She graduated with a BA from Mills College in New York City and earned an MA in Education at Adelphi College.
In 1960, after being diagnosed with a muscular condition irritated by Long Island’s wet weather, the family moved to Tucson’s desert. Paula thrived.
She was an active member of Congregation Anshei Israel, on the board of the Handmaker Jewish Nursing Home for the Aged, and supported the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.
Married 65 years to the late Harry G. Karchmer, Paula is survived by children Karin Bricker
(Palo Alto, CA) and Harvey Karchmer (Scottsdale, AZ), 3 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren, brothers Norman and Jack Leventhal and sister Vida Klein.
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