Barbara Schaffer
July 25, 1932
-
June 03, 2026
Funeral
Funeral Date and Time:
Monday, June 08, 2026 at 11:00 am
Funeral Service Information:
Barbara Schaffer (nee Saxon), age 93, award-winning educator and community leader, passed away on June 3, 2026. Born in Chicago July 25, 1932 to the late Jack and Fay Saxon (nee Orenstein), she was raised on West Adams Street in Garfield Park. She was married in 1953 to the late Martin Schaffer, and then in 2002 to the late Morton Jaffe. Predeceased by her beloved brother, Lawrence Saxon, her son, Jeffrey Schaffer, and her nephew, Bruce Saxon, Barb is survived by her adoring extended family, daughters Jacqueline Schaffer-Bochner (Bruce) and Jayne Krulewitch (Jerome), stepson Robert Jaffe, nieces and nephews Susan Saxon, Sandra Jaffe Siegel (Richard), Daniel Saxon (Maritza) and Harry Jaffe (Karen Srill-Jaffe), grandchildren David Bochner (Brenda),
Alexandra Krulewitch, Jack Krulewitch (fiancée Ella Sherman), Carson Krulewitch, Kadie Jaffe, and Leonard Jaffe, and grand-nieces and -nephews Sara Remmler, Danielle Jaffe, Luke Jaffe, Fernando Barrientos, and Joshua Siegel.
After graduating from Marshall High School in Chicago, Barbara attended both the Navy Pier and the Champaign-Urbana campuses of the University of Illinois, graduating in 1953 with a Bachelor of Education degree. Committed to inspiring and empowering all children to use their educations and unique talents to succeed in life, Barb’s first teaching job involved helping to integrate a Champaign elementary school in 1953–one year before Brown vs. Board of Education legally ended segregation. She married Marty that same year. After four years of teaching in Champaign, while Marty pursued his Masters in Architecture and began working for an architectural firm there, Barb gave birth to her first child, Jacqueline. Marty received a job offer in Chicago, and the new family moved to Park Forest.
While living in Park Forest, her son Jeffrey and daughter Jayne were born. Although Barb did not teach during her time in Park Forest, she became a civil rights and community activist, including serving terms as president of the local chapters of the League of Women Voters, and the National Council of Jewish Women. After moving to Homewood and then to Flossmoor, she continued her community involvement, serving as chair of the education committee at Temple Anshe Sholom, and as president of the Homewood-Flossmoor Parent Teacher Organization. In 1983, Barb and Marty moved back to Chicago. Later Barb volunteered with Temple Sholom’s social justice outreach.
Barbara returned to teaching full-time at James Hart Junior High School in Homewood, then to teaching mostly fifth and sixth grades at Memorial School in Tinley Park and at Kruse Education Center in Orland Park, retiring in 1998. While she was well-known for her successes with special needs students in the inclusion program, for creating innovative learning opportunities for all of her students, and for being District 146’s Holocaust Education Resource Teacher, Barb perhaps was best known for developing the gifted and talented curriculum for her own school, and later as District 146’s gifted and talented coordinator. In 1989, Barbara was presented with the Dr. Mary Kooyumjian Award by the Illinois Council for the Gifted for her outstanding contributions to gifted education.
In “retirement,” Barb spent a year working as a reading specialist with English as a Second Language (ESL) students at East Prairie Elementary in Skokie, and she also volunteered for and was later hired by WITS Chicago, a literacy-based mentorship program that provides corporate engagement opportunities to read with students in Chicago Public Schools.
Barbara’s primary “retirement” activity was her 20 year involvement in Northwestern University’s Osher Lifetime Learning Institute, where she met and fell in love with her second husband, Morton Jaffe (d. 2022), after he enrolled in a course that she was facilitating. After marrying in 2002, Barb and Mort continued to participate in and lead, sometimes together, courses on a wide range of topics, such as domestic and foreign affairs, biographical themes, films, or music genres. Barb was a perennial participant in the memoir-writing course, and she published works, including poems, in the Institute’s literary journal. Barb and Mort also enjoyed attending Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts, Grant Park Music and Humanities Festivals, and TimeLine Theatre plays, often with friends.
Barbara cherished her many lifelong friends—some since kindergarten, as well as her family. Her greatest joy was her role as a loving, active grandmother, partnering in serendipitous adventures, being a creative collaborator, and cheerleading her grandchildren’s pursuits.
Barb will be remembered by all who knew her for making them feel seen, loved and respected, for making the best of every moment, for her always in-demand expressive read-aloud voice, for her wildly contagious laugh, and for the songs she sang at the drop of a hat, especially “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” by Irving Berlin.
Barbara’s family wishes to thank the entire Belmont Village Lincoln Park team, Custom Home caregivers, and Suncrest Hospice care providers, who preserved her dignity to the end, delivering her the most attentive, supportive care possible, with kindness and humor.
Donations may be made in memory of Barbara Schaffer to Nourishing Hope Chicago (formerly Lakeview Food Pantry) at www.nourishinghopechi.org/donate or to your favorite charity. Funeral service Monday, June 8, 11:00AM at Westlawn Cemetery Chapel, 7801 W. Montrose Ave, Norridge. Interment to follow. Those who cannot attend in person can view Barbara’s service live or anytime thereafter at www.lakeshorejewishfunerals.com. Arrangements by Westlawn Jewish Funerals, 773-625-8621.
Alexandra Krulewitch, Jack Krulewitch (fiancée Ella Sherman), Carson Krulewitch, Kadie Jaffe, and Leonard Jaffe, and grand-nieces and -nephews Sara Remmler, Danielle Jaffe, Luke Jaffe, Fernando Barrientos, and Joshua Siegel.
After graduating from Marshall High School in Chicago, Barbara attended both the Navy Pier and the Champaign-Urbana campuses of the University of Illinois, graduating in 1953 with a Bachelor of Education degree. Committed to inspiring and empowering all children to use their educations and unique talents to succeed in life, Barb’s first teaching job involved helping to integrate a Champaign elementary school in 1953–one year before Brown vs. Board of Education legally ended segregation. She married Marty that same year. After four years of teaching in Champaign, while Marty pursued his Masters in Architecture and began working for an architectural firm there, Barb gave birth to her first child, Jacqueline. Marty received a job offer in Chicago, and the new family moved to Park Forest.
While living in Park Forest, her son Jeffrey and daughter Jayne were born. Although Barb did not teach during her time in Park Forest, she became a civil rights and community activist, including serving terms as president of the local chapters of the League of Women Voters, and the National Council of Jewish Women. After moving to Homewood and then to Flossmoor, she continued her community involvement, serving as chair of the education committee at Temple Anshe Sholom, and as president of the Homewood-Flossmoor Parent Teacher Organization. In 1983, Barb and Marty moved back to Chicago. Later Barb volunteered with Temple Sholom’s social justice outreach.
Barbara returned to teaching full-time at James Hart Junior High School in Homewood, then to teaching mostly fifth and sixth grades at Memorial School in Tinley Park and at Kruse Education Center in Orland Park, retiring in 1998. While she was well-known for her successes with special needs students in the inclusion program, for creating innovative learning opportunities for all of her students, and for being District 146’s Holocaust Education Resource Teacher, Barb perhaps was best known for developing the gifted and talented curriculum for her own school, and later as District 146’s gifted and talented coordinator. In 1989, Barbara was presented with the Dr. Mary Kooyumjian Award by the Illinois Council for the Gifted for her outstanding contributions to gifted education.
In “retirement,” Barb spent a year working as a reading specialist with English as a Second Language (ESL) students at East Prairie Elementary in Skokie, and she also volunteered for and was later hired by WITS Chicago, a literacy-based mentorship program that provides corporate engagement opportunities to read with students in Chicago Public Schools.
Barbara’s primary “retirement” activity was her 20 year involvement in Northwestern University’s Osher Lifetime Learning Institute, where she met and fell in love with her second husband, Morton Jaffe (d. 2022), after he enrolled in a course that she was facilitating. After marrying in 2002, Barb and Mort continued to participate in and lead, sometimes together, courses on a wide range of topics, such as domestic and foreign affairs, biographical themes, films, or music genres. Barb was a perennial participant in the memoir-writing course, and she published works, including poems, in the Institute’s literary journal. Barb and Mort also enjoyed attending Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts, Grant Park Music and Humanities Festivals, and TimeLine Theatre plays, often with friends.
Barbara cherished her many lifelong friends—some since kindergarten, as well as her family. Her greatest joy was her role as a loving, active grandmother, partnering in serendipitous adventures, being a creative collaborator, and cheerleading her grandchildren’s pursuits.
Barb will be remembered by all who knew her for making them feel seen, loved and respected, for making the best of every moment, for her always in-demand expressive read-aloud voice, for her wildly contagious laugh, and for the songs she sang at the drop of a hat, especially “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” by Irving Berlin.
Barbara’s family wishes to thank the entire Belmont Village Lincoln Park team, Custom Home caregivers, and Suncrest Hospice care providers, who preserved her dignity to the end, delivering her the most attentive, supportive care possible, with kindness and humor.
Donations may be made in memory of Barbara Schaffer to Nourishing Hope Chicago (formerly Lakeview Food Pantry) at www.nourishinghopechi.org/donate or to your favorite charity. Funeral service Monday, June 8, 11:00AM at Westlawn Cemetery Chapel, 7801 W. Montrose Ave, Norridge. Interment to follow. Those who cannot attend in person can view Barbara’s service live or anytime thereafter at www.lakeshorejewishfunerals.com. Arrangements by Westlawn Jewish Funerals, 773-625-8621.
Funeral Provider:
Lakeshore Jewish Funerals
Clergy:
Rabbi Shoshanah Conover
Cantor Sheera Ben-David
Cantor Sheera Ben-David
Interment:
Section C