Judith “Judy” Kanarish Rubenstein

FUNERAL SERVICE:  A memorial service honoring Judy’s life service will take place Thursday, May 7 at 4:30 pm at Temple Sinai - 5645 Dupree Dr NW, Sandy Springs, GA. 

STREAMING: Click HERE to stream the funeral service

SHIVA AND RECEPTION: A shiva and reception will take place immediately following the funeral at Temple Sinai's social hall

DONATIONS: In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome gifts in Judy’s memory to The Birthright Israel Foundation.

OBITUARY

Judith “Judy” Kanarish Rubenstein, 87, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 5. Judy was born on January 13, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, to Isaac and Irene (Funk) Kanarish, the second of four children. Growing up in Chicago in the postwar years, she enjoyed an idyllic childhood, attending Von Steuben High School on the north side of the city.

Judy studied at the University of Illinois before getting a teaching degree at the National College of Education in Evanston, IL. It was during her time at U of I that she was introduced to her future husband, Arnie Rubenstein, then an undergrad at the University of Michigan. Arnie wrote Judy dozens of letters from Ann Arbor to Urbana-Champaign, and from this initial courtship, a romance blossomed. While Arnie attended medical school in Chicago, Judy taught elementary school in the Chicago Public Schools. They were married in 1961 at the Chicago Sheraton hotel on Michigan Avenue.

Following Arnie’s medical residency, the couple relocated to Atlanta, where they spent the next six decades together, raising three children in the northwest suburbs of the city. In the early years, as the wife of a physician working long hours, Judy busied herself as the cook, dinner party host, carpool driver, sports cheerleader, and general contractor for the family home. As the children grew older and more independent, she devoted time to the community, playing active roles in various causes, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, American Jewish Committee, and the William Bremen Jewish Home, where she served as President of the Women’s Auxiliary. Never afraid to make her views known, Judy used pen and paper to petition local leaders about issues of concern, and more than one broken traffic sign and street light owed its repair to her tireless advocacy.

Along the way Judy enjoyed tennis, golf (twice hitting a hole-in-one!) and distance running, completing both the Honolulu Marathon and the Callaway Gardens Marathon. Always proud of her adopted Atlanta home, Judy served as a tour guide during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

In later years, Judy cherished her title as “Gigi” to her six grandchildren. Nothing gave her more pleasure than cheering from the stands at one of their sports competitions or patiently reading a storybook at bedtime. Her words and actions set an example that instilled in all of her kids and grandkids a steadfast devotion to

family. When not fussing over a family gathering or grandchild’s performance, Judy enjoyed a wide circle of friends in Atlanta and filled her hours with daily exercise, travel, book and stock clubs, contemporary art exhibits, bridge, mahjong, canasta, and community events.

Judy is survived by her loving husband, Arnie Rubenstein; her children, David (Kathy) Rubenstein of Atlanta, Michael (Nirit) Rubenstein of Phoenix, and Beth (Benjamin) Nowak of Atlanta; her grandchildren, Sam (Sophi) Rubenstein of New York City, Jack Rubenstein of New York City, Danny Rubenstein, Ben Rubenstein, and Mika Rubenstein of Phoenix, and Maggie Nowak of Atlanta; and her brothers, Peppie Kanarish of Scottsdale, and Mickie Kanarish of Denver. She was preceded in death by her sister, Sondra Rosner of Boca Raton.

A memorial service honoring Judy’s life service will take place Thursday, May 7 at 4:30 pm at Temple Sinai - 5645 Dupree Dr NW, Sandy Springs, GA. It will be followed by a shiva and reception in Temple Sinai’s social hall.

For those who would like to follow the service on Zoom, please visit Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care at https://www.jewishfuneralcare.com/. The link will be posted on the day of the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome gifts in Judy’s memory to The Birthright Israel Foundation.