Sylvia Naomi Bandler

Sylvia Naomi Bandler died peacefully on November 4th, 2019. She was born September 4th, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York to Anna and Joseph Weintraub. The family set out for Phoenix in the summer of 1952, arriving on her sixteenth birthday. Soon after, Sylvia began her sophomore year at Phoenix Union High School. She married young and immediately began a family, spending the next two decades as a devoted mother to her three boys.

In 1975, at a time of immense life transition, Sylvia courageously enrolled at Phoenix College. This decision began a successful academic journey, culminating with a Master’s Degree in Social Work magna cum laude from Arizona State University in 1984. She then went on to help countless individuals and families over the next fifteen years as a licensed clinician at Camelback/St. Luke’s Hospital, specializing in chemical dependency. Sylvia especially enjoyed working with adolescents.

Aside from her children and grandchildren, Sylvia’s greatest joy in life was traveling. Her adventures took her to all continents, including Antarctica. Through her travels, she “experienced a world that I never dreamed possible. In many ways, I developed new perceptions and ways of thinking about different cultures…made new connections with people and their ideas.” Her map of the world, with its many multi-colored destination pins scattered throughout, and her photo journals of every trip, were not just symbols of her accomplishments as an individual, but of her philosophy to seize life’s opportunities regardless of age.

She is survived by her three sons and their wives, Mack and Lori Bandler, Steven and Linda Bandler, and Ron and Laura Bandler, her grandchildren Zachary (Meg), Aaron (Nikki), Adam (Jessica), Kyle (Leah), Jillian, Emma, Griffin, Andrew, and Madison, as well as greatgrandchildren Rex and Lucio. She is also survived by her sister Harriet Dolgin, brother Martin Weintraub, nieces and nephews.

Sylvia was laid to rest on November 7th, 2019 at Beth Israel Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix. The family gratefully asks that any donations be made to the Congregation Beth Israel Camp Stein Scholarship Fund. May her memory be for a blessing.