Elsbeth Heinsheimer
HEINSHEIMER--Elsbeth, D.D.S., passed away peacefully in her 98th year, in New York City, on August 5, 2009. A remarkable woman. Wife of the late music publisher and author Hans W. Heinsheimer. Deeply loved, cherished and respected mother of Thomas (Julie) and Frances (Barry); grandmother of Eric, Eden, Carla (Marco) and Julian (Cecilia); and great-grandmother of Lucas, Ryan, Max, Leo, Liam, Cleo, Amelie and Edan. Daughter of the late Adolf and Trude Heinsheimer, sister of Gabi (Werner) Fellner and the late Gerd (Lore) Heinsheimer, aunt of Joan, Jeffrey, David and Michael. Born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1911, Dr. Heinsheimer studied dentistry at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, but was prevented from completing her degree by the Nazi racial laws. Emigrating to the U.S. in 1935, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1937, one of two women in a graduating class of more than one hundred. She practiced dentistry in New York for more than 50 years and was acknowledged for her superb work in the field. She thrived on New York's cultural life and regularly attended opera, symphony, ballet, museum exhibitions and, her special love, chamber music concerts. In her final years she often said: "I've had a wonderful life." And indeed she did. She will be greatly missed but remembered with admiration and with love. The family is most grateful to Dr. Amy Frieman, Melida Sanchez, Alice Brown, Aida di Falco, and everyone at Hearthstone Esplanade Manhattan and Hospice of New York for their exceptional devotion and loving care. Funeral service private.