Marlyn Katz Levenson, 77, of Newton, Mass., died Thursday, May 9, 2013.

Funeral services were held at the Levine Funeral Chapel in Brookline, Mass., led by Rabbi Steven Arnold, formerly of the St. Joseph, Mo., Reform congregation. Contributions are suggested to the L’Chayim Fund c/o Rabbi Paul Levenson, 27 Walnut Place, Newton Highlands, MA 02461 or the Needham Community Council, 570 Hillside Avenue, Needham, MA 02494 (http://needhamcommunitycouncil.org/).

Marlyn was born in Philadelphia on Feb. 26, 1936, to Mollie (Barrod) Katz, and Max Katz, both of whom were immigrants to America. Her undergraduate degree from Temple University in Philadelphia was in education, majoring in English with a Spanish minor. She also had a Hebrew teaching degree from Gratz Hebrew College in Philadelphia. Her master’s degree in reading was from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

She began her career as a full time Hebrew teacher in New Jersey synagogue schools. She continued in other education venues becoming a very competent educator and oral historian. Since 1976, she worked in the field of English as a second language (ESL). In Kansas City, she served as director of the Kansas City, Kan., CETA (Comprehensive Employment Training Act) Program, which was initially for local immigrant Spanish speakers but later was for immigrants from many non-Spanish speaking countries.

Marlyn was very active in the Kansas City, Mo., area where the Levensons lived for 14 years.

On moving to the Boston area in 1981, she was appointed by Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), the Jewish Federation of Boston, as the director of the ESL program for Russian Jews of Greater Boston who had arrived there by the thousands due to their recent release from the USSR. She served ably as the director for 10 years, supervising hundreds of ESL teachers who taught thousands of Russian Jews as well as many more Eastern European non-Jews (Czechs, Poles, Romanians, Albanians, etc.),who had fled the tyrannies of their home countries. She also supervised intern teachers from Boston University as well as Simmons College ESL master’s programs. She taught ESL conversation, composition, and reading at Harvard and Northeastern University for several years.

After training 18 volunteers to teach ESL in Boston’s Yad B’Yad Program, Marlyn was sent to Israel by CJP for five weeks in the summer of 1995 to supervise their program there. In 2006, CJP sent her to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, with two colleagues to aid in upgrading the teaching of English in their public schools.

She was a past president of MATSOL, Massachusetts Association of Teachers of ESL.

Marlyn was also involved in oral history interviewing for more than 20 years, first recording family members on audiocassettes and after that utilizing the camcorder as it became available. She felt strongly that we should value our own life’s journey and record it in some manner.

Thus inspired, she taught a 10-week Memoir Writing Course at Brandeis University’s Learning in Retirement Program in each of the fall and spring semesters from 2002-12, when she finally retired at age 76. In addition she presented many workshops all over the Boston area on how to get started in memoir writing.

Marlyn enjoyed languages. She attended a Spanish conversation group twice a month as well as monthly conversation groups in Hebrew and Yiddish. She was an avid reader her whole life, participating in two different book clubs.

Throughout her life, Marlyn participated in the Jewish community’s life wherever she lived. In Kansas City she was an active member of Hadassah, worked hard for Temple Beth El of Overland Park, where her husband, Paul, was the rabbi. In Boston, she was a very active and participating member of the Newton Centre Minyan. Her main contribution was to be the founding editor of The Minyanaire, the group’s monthly bulletin.

Robert and Dode Levenson, Marlyn’s two sons, both brought up and educated in Kansas City area public as well as Jewish schools, spoke to the congregation about their mother. Her husband, Rabbi Paul Levenson, also spoke and chanted Ayl Mahlay Rachameem at the Cemetery.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Rabbi Paul Levenson, and her children, Yonah, Bobby, Dode and Ilana. She was the Bubby of her grandchildren, Shoshi, Sydney and Isabel Levenson, Katherine and Elizabeth Lerner, and Burton Hirschman. Marlyn is also survived by her sister Irene Rimer and husband Ed and their children, Micah and Roman.

She will be missed by many.

Jean Nauert, 73, of Overland Park, died Monday, May 6, at Village Shalom.

She was born March 14, 1940, in Cambridge, Mass., to Dr. and Mrs. Louis Porter, moving to Kansas City in 1946. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical archaeology from Bryn Mawr College in 1962 and her Master of Arts degree at the University of Missouri in 1964.

On June 21, 1964, she married Charles G. Nauert, later teaching in the department of classical studies at the University of Missouri, until the birth of their sons, Paul in 1966 and Jon in 1970.

Jean worked as a library assistant at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., until retiring in 1998. She was an avid golfer and gardener. In 2009 she and her husband moved to the Kansas City area to be near relatives.

Survivors include her husband Charles; their sons, Paul (Robert Covington) of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Jon (Jessamyn Tuttle), of Mount Vernon, Wash.; her brother, Dr. Michael Porter (Dr. Sheryl Porter), of Loch Lloyd, Mo.; her sister, Mary Dees (Dr. Steve Hazel) of Mission Hills; sister-in-law, Donna Porter (Reston, Va.); as well as nieces and nephews.

A shiva and celebration of her life was held at Village Shalom on Thursday, May 9. Burial will be in Columbia at a later date. Donations in Jean’s memory may be sent to Harvester’s, Wayside Waifs or a charity of your choice.

Arr: Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri, 8837 Roe, Prairie Village, KS 66207; 913-383-9888.