This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Eva Reissner Ewing

Eva Reissner Ewing died peacefully at age 79 on Dec. 13, 2023, after a series of illnesses. Born Dec. 1, 1944, in Boston, she was the daughter of Prof. Eric Reissner and Johanna Siegel Reissner. Eva and her older brother John grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, where Eva attended Beaver Country Day School.

Eva studied economics at Swarthmore College, Class of 1966. There, she met Martin, her husband of 57 years. They both went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Eva received a master’s degree in economics in 1968. The couple settled in Los Angeles, where Eva worked at the Rand Corporation in healthcare economics while Martin was a radio astronomer at Caltech. Here, Eva and Martin had their three children, Margaret, Robert, and Eric.

During the 1980s, the family joined an intentional living group in Altadena, California. It was progressive but respectable! The “Villa Sarah” community grew out of two house churches that came together to acquire a grand but faded property. Over frequent communal dinners, words were spoken of social justice, mutual support, families, and good ecology. Eva discovered a passion for secondary education and became a math teacher and tutor. She also served as president of the Caltech Women’s Club and was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California.

In 1989, the family moved to Guilford. In the 1990s, Eva led the Urban-Suburban Exchange Program, which aimed to counter geographic racial and class divisions by pairing classrooms from New Haven and nearby suburbs for educational and social exchange. Eva also served as president of the Yale University Women’s Organization, while Martin helped Yale develop its scientific and academic computing programs. They became members of the First Congregational Church of Guilford. In later years, Eva grew closer to her extended Reissner family. Her parents, immigrants from Germany in the 1930s, had moved away from their Jewish heritage, leaving it to Eva’s generation to discover and reunite with the large family that had scattered around the world. Many were lost in the Holocaust, but descendants of those who survived have joyously reunited in several international reunions.

Retiring to Branford, Eva was a longtime volunteer with the Long Wharf Theater and delivered Meals on Wheels with the Community Dining Room. She enjoyed nature walks and playing clarinet in the town band. In 2019, Eva and Martin moved to Evergreen Woods in North Branford.

Eva is survived by her husband Martin and children, Margaret of New Haven, Robert of Oakland, California, and Eric of Chevy Chase, Maryland. Her brother John died in 2006.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 27, at the First Congregational Church in Guilford. Donations in Eva’s memory may be made to the Branford Community Dining Room, 30 Harrison Ave., Branford, CT 06405. Arrangements are with the Hawley Lincoln Memorial, Guilford.