Thelma Leah Feldhamer, an architect who designed many projects including Cinderella City, passed away July 21, 2018, in Denver. Rabbi Steven Rubenstein officiated at the July 25 service at Feldman Chapel. Interment followed at Mt. Nebo Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
“Mom was one of the strongest of women I ever knew,” said her daughter Raquel Alexander. “She raised two children, cooked all the meals, prepared all the Jewish holidays, sewed my beautiful clothes . . . and worked full time as an architect.
“When we faced tough situations, my mother would say, ‘The first 100 years are the hardest.’”
Mrs. Feldhamer was born May 10, 1925, in Brooklyn. She excelled in school and the arts and skipped a grade in primary school.
While most women in that era were either teachers or nurses, Mrs. Feldhamer attended Cooper Union College in New York on a full scholarship and earned a degree in architecture.
She met Carl Feldhamer, who served in the Air Force at Lowry AFB, at Yom Kippur services. They married in 1950. Due the lack of a Jewish elementary school on Long Island, the couple helped start the Mid Island Hebrew School.
The Feldhamers moved to Denver in 1963.
After earning her Colorado architectural license in 1972, Mrs. Feldhamer became one of a handful of female architects in the country.
She designed many custom homes, buildings, post offices, warehouses and churches in Denver, as well as Cinderella City, the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world at that time.
Mrs. Feldhamer served as the treasurer of Denver’s Hadassah chapter for many years, and both she and her husband volunteered for the Civil Air Patrol based at Buckley AFB.
Mr. Feldhamer passed away on April 9, 1990.
During her last years, Mrs. Feldhamer suffered from dementia and resided at Cherry Creek Nursing Center in Aurora.
“She was an avid reader, always did the crossword puzzles and excelled at Scrabble,” her daughter said. “It was so sad to see her mind being destroyed by this devastating disease, but she always recognized me and remembered my name.”
Mrs. Feldhamer is survived by her daughter Raquel Alexander and son Mark Feldhamer; grandchildren Shane Wathen, Morgan Feldhamer and Meryl (Bram) Glotman; and great-grandson Martin Carl Glotman.
Contributions may be made to Hadassah, attn: Donor Services, PO Box 1100, New York, NY 10268.
Copyright © 2018 by the Intermountain Jewish News
