Elizabeth Eichelbaum was the paternal grandmother of Temple Shalom congregant Dennis Eichelbaum, and great grandmother of Bari, Emma (Darling), and Aaron. Her exceptional story of coming to America was included in the book The Voice of Memory: A Collection of Memoirs (excerpt following). She raised four sons and helped her husband Martin run a delicatessen in Detroit, Michigan. In 1974, her husband died, and left her the business to run. She successfully continued the business. Having dropped out of school as a young child, she always wanted to obtain her education. After passing her high school equivalency test, she decided to enroll in college and earned her bachelor’s degree at age 69. She earned her master’s degree at age 81. She continued in school, eventually earning her doctorate in education in 2000, from the University of Tennessee at age 90. This accomplishment earned her international recognition and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for becoming the oldest person to earn a doctorate degree at the time. From there she went on to teach art therapy at senior living facilities, where most of the participants were younger than her. Her inspirational story was featured alongside Justice Sonya Sotomayor and other inspirational woman in the book Believing in Ourselves (excerpt following).

Excerpt from The Voice of Memory: A Collection of Memoirs

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Excerpt from Believing in Ourselves

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