Maxima Trambert

Maxima Trambert, formerly of Norwalk, CT, died on July 4th aged 96 at her daughter’s home in West Hartford, CT.

Maxima was born on October 22, 1923, and grew up in the British Mandate of Palestine. Her mother was Esther David (Segal). Her father was Yaacov Chaim David, the town doctor in Tiberias. She was born 15 years after her sister Channa and 5 years after her sister Nona. Her mother traveled by steamship and train to Paris for the birth, where she could receive better medical care. Maxima’s uncle, Yaacov Segal, was a prominent physician in Paris, having received the Legion d’Honneur for his medical service with the French army in the First World War. Maxima’s father served as a doctor with the Turkish army during the war, Tiberias then being part of the Ottoman province of Palestine. The two doctors were on opposite sides in the war.

Maxima’s early life was steeped in the prologue to Israeli independence. Her paternal grandfather, Moshe David Shub, was a Zionist pioneer who left Romania to found the settlement of Rosh Pina in 1882, where a street is named in his honor. Her father, Yaacov, died during the 1936 Arab Revolt; he was unable to get medical treatment for a sudden illness due to roadblocks which isolated Tiberias from the hospital in Haifa.

After earning her Masters in Chemistry from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Maxima moved to Canada in 1946 to be with her sister, Channa. There, Maxima managed chemistry labs and co-authored a 1948 paper with Dr. Allan Gornall which has been cited more than 17,000 times, ranking among the top 100 most-cited scientific publications. After moving to NYC, she spent several months evaluating samples of liquid explosives for the Haganah movement (a precursor to the Israel Defense Forces). Later, she took on more conventional work in an NYC hospital laboratory.

In 1950, she met Harry Trambert who stopped at his cousin’s house to pick up his brother’s raincoat and found the love of his life. They married 6 months later. Maxima and Harry were married for 52 years. Harry passed away in 2003.

Maxima and Harry built a life together in Norwalk,

CT, where Harry opened an obstetrics practice in 1951. They started off with almost nothing, constantly working to secure a future of opportunity and education for their children, and eventually, their grandchildren.

With the encouragement of her friend, Rosaria Konstantin, Maxima went back to school to receive a Masters Degree in Education at Fairfield University and began a second career as a high school chemistry teacher. She taught for over a decade, and was known amongst her Westport students for her love of the slogan “units are your friends.” Each year, many of her students won prestigious awards in state-wide chemistry competitions.

Maxima was truly extraordinary. In her youth she wrote poetry, occasionally dabbled in science fiction writing, performed in theater, painted, and sang. Even from a young age, her inquisitive spirit and love of science distinguished her, whether she was in class or helping her father examine malaria slides in his practice. Beginning at age 12, she read everything from Wordsworth to Dostoyevsky to H.G. Wells. She loved the arts, studying sculpture and pottery and frequently going to Broadway shows and operas.

After her husband passed, she lived in NYC for 13 years, close to her eldest son and his family. In October 2017, she moved to West Hartford, around the corner from her daughter, sonin-law, and granddaughter.

Maxima is survived by her three children, Jonathan Trambert (Dovelet Shashou) of Riverdale, NY; Ann Trambert (Chris Lewis) of West Hartford, CT; Michael Trambert of Santa Barbara, CA; and five grandchildren: Steven, Emily, Jacob, Talia, and Sarah. Maxima was buried in Santa Barbara, CA, next to her husband. A remote memorial gathering is planned for August 23rd at 4 PM EST. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Masonicare Hospice of East Hartford, CT.