Ida Ruth Malbin, who spent part of her childhood at the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, passed away May 30, 2010, in Denver. She was 103 years old.
Rabbi David Zucker officiated at the June 1 graveside service at Golden Hill Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
A feminist long before the term existed, Miss Malbin dazzled people with her elegance, wit and intelligence.
Ida was a very private, determined, and fiercely independent woman, Rabbi Zucker eulogized. She was strong-willed. She was tough. She was resolute and single-minded
There was one way of doing things: Idas way.
While going through her papers, the family found this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which encapsulates Miss Malbins philosophy:
Finish every day and be done with it. Youve done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can . . . This day is all that is good and fair. It is to too dear with its hopes and invitations to waste a moment on the yesterdays.
Miss Malbin was born Jan. 10, 1907, in Savannah, Ga. Her parents separated, and for a time she lived with her mother and brother in Hot Springs, Ark.
When her mother was diagnosed with asthma, the family moved to Denver so she could be treated at JCRS.
During this time, Miss Malbin and her brother Samuel lived at the Sheltering Home. She often snuck into the pantry to get cookies or chocolate for her friends, and its doubtful she was ever caught.
A graduate of North High, she moved to New York in 1925 and lived there until 1938, when she returned to Denver.
Over the next 20 years, Miss Malbin worked for the Office of Price Administration. She was active in Bnai Brith and served as a chapter advisor in the 1950s.
Miss Malbin returned to New York in 1956. She worked as confidential secretary to Judges Eddie Greenfield and Will Midonick for nearly 10 years.
A lifelong Democrat, she was very involved with the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club. She also chaired the Beth Cosnow Memorial Service at Brotherhood Synagogue.
Miss Malbin spent her retirement years in New York teaching English to foreign-born professionals.
She loved the opera, attending plays and visiting museums, and also traveled.
In 2003, she moved back to Denver and resided at Shalom Park until her death.
Miss Malbin, who never married, is survived by her cousin Lori Spanbauer and numerous friends.
Contributions may be made to Shalom Park and Beth Nehamah Hospice.
Copyright © 2010 by the Intermountain Jewish News.
