Mauri Stein, longtime guidance counselor, 76

Mauri Stein

Mauri Stein — a beloved wife, mother and grandmother — passed away on Jan. 11, 2022. She was 76.

Born in Manhattan to Jinx and Allen Manassee, she lived on Riverside Drive before moving to Scarsdale, where she graduated from Scarsdale High School. She went on to graduate from New York University, and received a master’s degree in social work from Hunter College.

Her NYU roommate introduced her to her future husband, Victor, on a blind date. The date didn’t go very well, so logically they went on another one the next night. And all the nights following. They were married for 52 years, living in Riverdale, and raising two children: Rachel Stein Dickinson and David Stein.

She worked for 30 years as a teacher and then a guidance counselor in the New York City public school system in the Bronx. She touched the lives of thousands of children when they were most in need of a loving adult to listen to and guide them. She was a fierce defender of children with a unique understanding and respect for them as human beings.

Irreverently funny and smart, she had plenty to say, and often it was the things others might only think. She was witty and straight up.

She had an uncompromising strength and devotion to her family.

She loved a great story and was never without a current book. She also loved sunshine and summer, especially camp where she spent every summer growing up at Camp Keewanee — owned by her family — and Stissing Lake.

Her greatest joy in life was her grandchildren, Sam and Talia Dickinson, and Abby and Emily Stein. She delighted in buying them large and impractical presents, knowing everything about their lives, and encouraging their interests and accomplishments.

She was an exceptional mother and grandmother who was always available to listen to daily travails, and made her love, support and pride clearly known every day.

She is survived by her husband Victor, children Rachel and David, and son-in-law Jonathan, daughter-in-law Michelle, and grandchildren Sam, Abby, Talia and Emily. She’s also survived by lifelong friends and many New York City children whose lives she touched.

A memorial will be planned for the near future. Memorial gifts may be made to JDRF — formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation — at tinyurl.com/MauriJDRF, or to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at tinyurl.com/MauriBCRF.