Cover photo for Ann Schaechner's Obituary
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1931 Ann 2019

Ann Schaechner

July 2, 1931 — November 26, 2019

Ann Schwartz Schaechner passed away on November 26, 2019, surrounded by her family. The daughter of Georgie Krakauer Schwartz and Ervin H. Schwartz, she followed the example of community service of her parents and her grandfather Adolph Schwartz, founder of The Popular Dry Goods Co. She grew up in El Paso, attended Dudley Elementary School and El Paso High School, and graduated from the Radford School for Girls. After graduating from Smith College with a degree in art, she returned to El Paso and married Robert E. Goodman, with whom she had four children. Ann was a very straightforward ethical individual who exerted influence in meaningful and life-enhancing ways for many segments of the El Paso community over decades. Her involvement in El Paso’s civic life began in the 1960s, when she served on several civic and cultural boards, including the Southwestern Sun Carnival, the El Paso Symphony Association, El Paso Pro-Musica, the City’s Arts Resources Department, the El Paso Cultural Planning Council, El Paso Insights Museum, and the Bridge Center for Contemporary Arts. She also served as a director of The Popular and was a member of Las Comadres. A leader in El Paso’s Jewish community, she served as president of Temple Mount Sinai, its Sisterhood, the Jewish Federation of El Paso, the local chapter of National Council of Jewish Women, and the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center. For her commitment to the El Paso community, which she loved so deeply, she received the Hannah B. Solomon Award, Temple’s Rodef Shalom Award, and the Extra Miler Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. She was also inducted into the El Paso Commission for Women’s Hall of Fame. Having led many non-profits, she used her talents to help others form new organizations as Executive Director of the Center for Volunteerism and Non-Profit Management, where she worked from 1987 to 2000. As a role model for non-profit leadership in El Paso, she guided hundreds of non-profit organizations in creating and pursuing their missions. She was a loyal alumna of Smith College, recruiting students from El Paso and attending most of her college class reunions over a sixty-year period. In 1999, she married Tibor Schaechner, who survives her. She was preceded in death by her brothers Alan Schwartz and Edward F. Schwartz, as well as her parents. Left to carry on her good works are her son Robert E. Goodman, Jr. (Joanne); daughters Ellen Goodman, Susan Novick (David), and Rebecca Krasne (Alan); grandchildren Trude Tiesi (John), Peter Goodman (Jessica), Lt. Charles Goodman, and Andrew Goodman; great-granddaughters Jeanne Tiesi and Genevieve Goodman; step-daughters Lillian Schaechner (Elaine Weissman), Audrey Lavi (Eitan), and Susie Schaechner; and step-grandchildren Moti Lavi (Amanda), Yamit Lavi, and Danny Lavi. She is also survived by numerous loving nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. The family extends its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Arianna Bender, Kindred Hospice, and caretakers Korina Centeno, Nancy Centeno, Leslie Alvarez, Nora Villareal, Marilu Alvarado, Alma Madrid, and Angela Salgado. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, December 1, at 12 p.m. at Temple Mount Sinai, 4408 N. Stanton St., followed by burial at Congregation B’nai Zion Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Mount Sinai, 4408 N. Stanton St., El Paso, TX 79902 or to Smith College, c/o Beth Raffeld, Alumnae House, 33 Elm Street, Northampton MA 01063. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home West. Please visit our online registry at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.
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Sunday, December 1, 2019

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