Ellen Louise Kaufman Bernstein

Ellen Louise Kaufman Bernstein Ellen Louise Kaufman Bernstein, died on December 2, 2013 in Charlotte, NC. She was born on May 10, 1932 in New York City, New York . Louise was the daughter of Irving and Sophia Smith Kaufman of Mt. Vernon, New York. In 1949 she graduated from Davis Senior High School in Mt. Vernon, New York as Salutatorian. An accomplished concert pianist, she chose to attend Wellesley College rather than pursue a professional career in music, and graduated in 1953 cum laude in History of Art. She worked as an administrator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1953 to 1955, and later Registrar of the Yale Art Gallery from 1955 to 1957. Louise was president of the Wellesley Club of Western North Carolina, and Chair of the Board of MAES Inn (now Hospitality House) where she volunteered for many years. She led the effort to commission and install the stained glass at Temple Beth El's original building at Shalom Park in Charlotte. She taught English as a second language and for many years was an art teacher at the Mint Museum, and was well known for her advocacy of arts causes in North Carolina. She was a great lover of all of the arts, especially the Charlotte Symphony, the North Carolina Dance Theater and live performances of all sorts. In 2012 a lecture series in her name was established by her family at the Bechtler Museum of Art on the occasion of her 80th birthday. She was the matriarch of a large family to whom she bestowed a warm sense of humor, rapier wit, strong values and a love of the arts. She is survived by her husband of fifty-eight years, Mark Bernstein, her six children Phillip and his wife Nancy Alexander; Adam and his wife Tamar Seigel; Cary and her husband Alan Kronovet; Andrew and his wife Elka Bernstein; Jonathan Bernstein, and Evan Finamore and her husband Carl Finamore, and also fourteen grandchildren, Alyssa, Natalie, Shayna, Nathan, Rosalie, Zoe, Svetlana, Asher, Eli, Jordan, Jackson, Jacob, Phoebe and Oliver; and her brother Dr. Charles Kaufman and his wife Rhoda. The funeral service for Louise will be held at 11:00AM on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at Temple Beth El 5101 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28226. Interment will be private. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, contributions to The Bechtler Museum, 420 S. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202; North Carolina Dance Theater, at www.ncdance.org; or Hospitality House 1400 Scott Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28203. The family will gather at Mark Bernstein's home from 6:45 PM to 7:45 PM Wednesday, followed by a brief service. A second service will be held on Thursday at 7:45 PM at the same address.