Betty Trachtenberg

Betty Trachtenberg, a resident of Hamden since 1969, died at her home on Tuesday, March 14. She was 89.

Betty was born in in 1933 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Solomon and Anna (London) Glassman. Her parents were immigrants from eastern Europe who were active members of the Jewish community in Philadelphia. Though not religiously observant, Betty was deeply proud of her upbringing and her heritage. As a child she showed a talent for piano, and eventually studied with the noted pianist and composer Leo Ornstein at his Philadelphia school, continuing into her twenties. She graduated from Girls High School in 1951.

In 1952 she married Alan Trachtenberg, who she had known since childhood. Alan’s education and academic career took them to Storrs, Connecticut, Minneapolis, Minnesota, State College, Pennsylvania, and finally Hamden, when he joined the faculty at Yale University. Through these years Betty continued with the piano, giving lessons and accompanying dance classes. In State College she helped found The Music Academy, a non-profit community music school, which continues to operate after nearly 60 years. In the early 1970s she taught music at the Children’s Center in Hamden.

In 1974 she began her 33 year-long career at Yale, starting with the Summer Session, then the Admissions Office, and then the Yale College Dean’s office, serving as Dean of Student Affairs until her retirement in 2007. (Details about her time at Yale can be found at https://news. yale.edu/2023/03/16/bettytrachtenberg-dean-andguiding-force-generationyale-students ).

After her retirement Betty served on the board of the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, volunteered at Edgerton Park, and participated in other activities in her community.

Betty was predeceased by her beloved husband of 68 years Alan in 2020. She is survived by her children Zev (Tina Kambour) of Norman, Oklahoma, Elissa ( James Baker) of Brooklyn, New York, and Julia of Hamden, Connecticut; by her grandchildren Isaac, Anna, Naomi, and Benjamin (Rachel Kasab); and by her great-grandson Alexander, born in February. She also leaves behind her nieces Hara Salkovitz (Todd) and Lynn Glassman, and her nephew Todd Glassman (Lori Emrick), and their children

Betty’s ashes are interred at the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. A celebration of her and her husband’s lives will be held at a later date. Donations in her memory may be made to the Neighborhood Music School in care of the NMS Development Office, 100 Audubon St., New Haven, CT 06510-1206 or at https:// donatenow.networkforgood. org/1392661 .