ONLINE EDITION FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2001

Obituaries

Rita Emanuel, a lifelong Great Neck resident and a descendant of the first Jewish family in Great Neck, died on Oct. 16, 2001 at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset from a sudden heart attack. She was 85 years old. Mrs. Emanuel's grandparents, Rose and Avram Wolf, originally from Germany, moved their family from Manhattan to Great Neck in 1891. They had been offered a large home at low rent by W.R. Grace, steamship magnate and mayor of NYC, for whom Abe Wolf was a tailor.

Mr. Grace, who summered in Great Neck, had learned of a trolley car accident that had taken the leg of Mrs. Emanuel's father, Isaac, as an infant. Isaac, known as I.G.,was one of seven children, four of whom remained in Great Neck. Like his father, he was active in civic and Jewish affairs in Great Neck. The elder Wolf helped establish the Alert Fire Dept.; I.G., the Vigilant. I.G. became an active Great Neck real estate broker and played a central role in the development of many local properties, including Tuscan Court and Kenilworth. When Mrs. Emanuel was school-aged, I.G. and Pauline Wolf, along with other involved families, began organizing the Jewish community. This group formed the nucleus of what later became Temple Beth-El. Mrs. Emanuel's father, I.G. Wolf, assembled the property for it at no charge and served as its second president. His father, Avram Wolf, funded the purchase of the group's first Torah, in memory of his wife, Rose, who died on Mrs. Emanuel's 13th birthday. He served as its honorary president all his life.

Rita Emanuel was born in February 1916 on Grace Ave. She was the older of two girls. Her deceased sister, Ethel Wolf Larick, was also a lifetime Great Neck resident. Mrs. Emanuel attended Kensington School, the second elementary school in Great Neck, and what is now the Miller North High School, Great Neck's second secondary school. In 1930 she was confirmed at Temple Beth El which met at the time in the Community Church on Bond St. She also attended the NY School of Interior Design.

In 1940 Miss Wolf married Louis Emanuel, originally from Portland, ME. The wedding was held at her home, built by her father in his marriage year of 1914. It stood until a few years ago at the corner of Maple Dr. and Hillside Ave. In 1914 Great Neck Estates extended only one block in from Middle Neck Rd.

Mrs. Emanuel and her husband Louis were founding members of Temple Israel and remained active in it all their lives. A week before her death, the congregation honored the couple during Simchat Torah services. In 1990 they were the honorees at the temple's annual educational fund-raising gala. In the spring of this year Mrs. Emanuel delivered a talk about the early history of Great Neck and her family's involvement in it.

Rita Emanuel was a life member of Hadassah and the Association for the Help of Retarded Children. She was twice president of the Sharon Group of Hadassah, now known as the Herzl Group. She delivered Meals-on-Wheels from North Shore University Hospital-Manhasset. She was a devotee of the arts - particularly the Dance.

Rita took seriously her important roles as wife, mother and grandmother. She also had many dear enduring friendships, some with people whom she had grown up with in Great Neck. She made friends easily and was a modest, pleasant person, who gave generously of herself to her family, friends and beloved Great Neck community.

In addition to her husband Louis, she is survived by her children, Paula and Joel Rubin of Heathrow, FL, Trudy Emanuel and Jofred Grinblat of Forest Hills, and David and Drora Emanuel of Great Neck and Linda Emanuel of Great Neck. She also leaves grandchildren, Ilene Rubin, Gregory and Nicole Rubin, Jason Emanuel and Maya Emanuel. She was eagerly anticipating the birth of her first great-grandchild, Harrison Samuel Rubin, born Oct. 27.

The funeral was handled by Riverside-Nassau North Chapels, Great Neck. Burial Mt. Hebron Cemetery. Note: The full text of Mrs. Emanuel's speech on early Great Neck mentioned in this article is available. Contact Louis Emanuel, 65 Old Pond Rd., Great Neck, NY 11023.