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Rita (Endleman) Horenstein of Hampton Bays died on July 26. She was 92.
Ms. Horenstein was born on May 26, 1924, in London, England. She was the youngest of four children raised in London by Rose and Harry Endleman. During World War II, she was sent away from the London area to the English countryside, along with millions of other children, in an effort to put them out of harm’s way during German attacks on England. After the war ended, she traveled to Paris to join the postwar reconstruction effort. She met and ended up sharing an apartment with Florrie Chiat and they both loved the energy and excitement of the city. Ms. Horenstein returned there many times over the course of her long life. It was there that she met her husband, Walt “Rudy” Horenstein, a Polish Jew who had survived the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi labor camps. They were married on March 27, 1949, and emigrated to New York City several years later. They lived in Parkway Village in Kew Gardens and then Great Neck, before retiring to Hampton Bays.
A lover of ballet, Ms. Horenstein taught classes for many years and enthusiastically supported the New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theater and other major dance companies. She and her husband were avid supporters of other performing arts, frequently attending a wide variety of concerts during their time in New York City and after retiring to their home in Hampton Bays. She loved gardening and was so proud of her garden on East Point Lane.
Ms. Horenstein also worked for many years in the office of Siamese Imports, a trading company founded by Lucy Maxym that was well known for its imported Russian lacquer, including hand-painted boxes and plates.
During the final years of her life, she suffered from dementia, residing in nursing homes in Westhampton and Rockville, Maryland, for nearly five years prior to her death. For most of this period, while her husband was alive and physically able, he traveled from Hampton Bays to Westhampton every day to be with her and comfort her.
Ms. Horenstein is survived by a daughter, Nadine Horenstein; son-in-law, Clifford Johnson; and two grandchildren, Joshua and Emma Johnson.
A memorial service will be held on October 2 at the Inn Spot on the Bay, 32 Lighthouse Road in Hampton Bays, beginning at 11 a.m.
Memorial donations may be made to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, ushmm.org.
on Sep 12, 2016