Obituary for Maxine Zeifman
Zeifman—Maxine, age 92, passed away at her apartment in Manhattan on January 29th, 2021. She was born April 2, 1928 to Bertha and Alexander Blanchette and was raised in Toronto. She came to the United States when her family moved to Los Angeles, where she earned her BA from UCLA. Later, she happily married Israel Sol Zeifman, whom she had kept in touch with since her high school days in Canada.
The couple then moved to Paris where he studied medicine. She supported them by working for the US embassy as a translator for the historic Marshall Plan. After moving from Paris to NY, they had two children. The family spent much of their free time hiking and camping. For several years, she pursued an acting career. She was the leading lady in The Plot Against Harry, which played at the Cannes Film Festival. She then decided to become a psychoanalyst and earned her MSW from Hunter College. She completed her training at the Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS). She participated as a lifelong member of both the CSF and the International Psychoanalytic Association. She was a clinician in private practice, treating patients at Columbia Medical College, Hunter College, and Bronx Psychiatric. She also participated in medical research.
She was widowed at an early age when her beloved husband died of ALS in 1985. She was fortunate to have a loving relationship later in life with an academic who shared her passion for politics, literature, and the arts.
She had a tremendous joi de vivre. She was a fierce fighter for the common good, an intellectual, and a lover of the beauty of art and nature. She is survived by her beloved children (Dr. Claude Zeifman and Dr. Anne Zeifman and her partner Bruce Marsh Phd.); four grandchildren (Alyosha, Natalie, Nathaniel, and Elyse); family members in California, Toronto, and France; and by her partner Avrom Fleishman, PhD.
The couple then moved to Paris where he studied medicine. She supported them by working for the US embassy as a translator for the historic Marshall Plan. After moving from Paris to NY, they had two children. The family spent much of their free time hiking and camping. For several years, she pursued an acting career. She was the leading lady in The Plot Against Harry, which played at the Cannes Film Festival. She then decided to become a psychoanalyst and earned her MSW from Hunter College. She completed her training at the Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS). She participated as a lifelong member of both the CSF and the International Psychoanalytic Association. She was a clinician in private practice, treating patients at Columbia Medical College, Hunter College, and Bronx Psychiatric. She also participated in medical research.
She was widowed at an early age when her beloved husband died of ALS in 1985. She was fortunate to have a loving relationship later in life with an academic who shared her passion for politics, literature, and the arts.
She had a tremendous joi de vivre. She was a fierce fighter for the common good, an intellectual, and a lover of the beauty of art and nature. She is survived by her beloved children (Dr. Claude Zeifman and Dr. Anne Zeifman and her partner Bruce Marsh Phd.); four grandchildren (Alyosha, Natalie, Nathaniel, and Elyse); family members in California, Toronto, and France; and by her partner Avrom Fleishman, PhD.