Norfolk—Eleanor “Ellie” Leon Lipkin, passed away at home on December 22, 2022.
Proud to have been raised in Berkeley, she then became a lifelong resident of Norfolk. She was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Helen Goodman Leon.
She was preceded in death by her husband Paul M. Lipkin and sister Phyllis Green. Ellie was a graduate of Maury High and attended Carnegie Mellon University. She was a founding member of Temple Israel and a faithful “Minyonaire.”
The consummate volunteer, Ellie was involved with and led innumerable organizations. In the Jewish community, she was the first woman president of the JCC, regional president of B’nai B’rith Women, headed the women’s division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and was active on the boards of Temple Israel, Beth Sholom Home, the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth, and many others. Her energy extended to the broader world and she was active with the Friends of the Juvenile Court, Dwelling Place, Food Bank, Volunteer Hampton Roads, Virginia Interfaith Council. In her 80’s she became an enthusiastic Reading Buddy and weekly made and served sandwiches to chemotherapy patients through Cancer Care’s Acts of Kindness program.
Ellie and Paul loved traveling with friends. Her most memorable trip, however, was a four-person mission to the Soviet Union in 1989 to assist Jewish Refuseniks.
Ellie’s active community service didn’t lessen her commitment to her family. She provided her children, nephews; and grandchildren with summers at Sandbridge and all eagerly anticipated holiday gatherings with extended family and friends.
Ellie is survived by her children Laura (Bill), Matt (Donna), and Rhonda (Michele), grandchildren Tova, Jenna, Edwin, Barrett, Devin, Sarah, India, Randy, and great-grandchildren Eliot, Ryleigh, Jace, and Arianna, as well as other extended family members and dear friends.
Funeral services were held at Temple Israel. Memorial donations may be made to Hope House Foundation, Temple Israel, or Beth Sholom Home. Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.