Eva Schulz was a community leader

Eva Schulz, who passed away on July 5 at the age of 94, had a busy teaching career. Yet she found time to take leadership roles at eight different local community organizations.

Ms. Schulz was passionately interested in education, opera, music, animals and the arts, and was known by many for her extraordinary garden. She was a board member at Riverdale Mental Health, the Spuyten Duyvil Infantry, the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, Riverdale Neighborhood House and the Bronx Arts Ensemble. 

She was president of the Bronx Opera Company, a member of the Friends of Horticulture at Wave Hill and a tireless supporter of Riverdale Senior Services. She was the “Mayor” of Alderbrook — a complex of homes west of Henry Hudson Parkway — for many years.  

For her unstinting devotion to children, the arts, mental health and the community, Ms. Schulz was honored by Community Board 8 and the New York City Council. She was an honoree of Riverdale Senior Services at its 30th Anniversary celebration in 2004. 

A long-time Riverdalian, Ms. Schulz was born in Vienna, Austria in 1922. She came to the United States in 1938, just in time to start her high school senior year in New York City. She attended Smith College and then returned to New York City, where she worked for Dr. Nahum Goldmann, a leading Zionist figure and founder of the World Jewish Congress. 

In 1946, Ms. Schulz married John W. Schulz. They moved to Riverdale in 1951. When her youngest child started school full-time, she began volunteering at Fieldston Lower School, and then earned a masters degree in special education from Bank Street College of Education. She was the remedial reading teacher at the Ethical Culture School in Manhattan for 15 years. She retired in 1988.  

In 2005, Ms. Schulz moved to Kendal-on-Hudson, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Sleepy Hollow, New York, where she was a member of the original gardening and library committees.  

“The staff at Kendal has been incredibly supportive and loving,” said her daughter, Elizabeth,” adding, “Throughout her years, Eva touched many lives.”

She is survived by her three children and their spouses, Catherine Benison and Diane Benison, Elizabeth Schulz and Theresa Roche, Andrew Schulz and Mauri Small, and her grandson, William Schulz, as well as by Cleo the cat. Her husband John predeceased her in 1995.

A memorial celebration of Ms. Schulz’ life is being planned for a later date.