Obituary of Klari Englander

Klari Englander passed away peacefully in Eugene, Oregon on June 19, 2015 at age 100 with her family at her side after a long, healthy, productive, and meaningful life. On December 2, 1914, she was born Klari Mandel in Kosice, Slovakia, which at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. An only child, she lost her father at age 10 due to tuberculosis acquired in the trenches of World War I. Klari showed an early interest and ability in music, taking up the piano at age 4. Later she studied at the Prague Conservatory of Music earning her certificate in piano from the conservatory. While there she met Imre Englander, a violinist, conductor, and one of her music professors. They married late in 1939. Very fortunately they were able to emigrate from what was then Czechoslovakia, early in the Nazi domination of their country, coming to the United States in 1939. Initially settling in Indianapolis, Klari began teaching piano privately, becoming a well-known piano teacher of children in the city. She was active in the Indianapolis Piano Teachers Association and performed live on radio numerous times in both solo and chamber music appearances. Her only child, Raymond, was born in 1946 after which she was a dedicated mother as well as piano teacher. She and Raymond’s father instilled in him a love of music that persists to this day although he did not choose music as a profession. Klari developed a desire to teach public school music and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Jordan College of the Arts of Butler University in 1964 and her Master of Music degree there in 1968 after prematurely losing her husband in 1966. She taught junior high school music in Indianapolis for 8 years before moving to New York City in 1972 to be nearer her mother and other family members. She remained a lifetime active member of Mu Phi Epsilon, the national music sorority, later a coeducational music fraternity. After a stint working in industry in New York City, she returned to her principal professional love, teaching the piano, joining the faculty of the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music. She taught into her 92nd year when macular degeneration sadly stole her ability to read music. Always upbeat, she continued to practice piano on a daily basis and lived in Forest Hills, Queens, in New York City until moving to Eugene in 2012 to be nearer her son and his family. In Eugene she lived at Sheldon Park Assisted Living where she remained busy participating in many of the activities there and going to concerts and outings with her son’s family. Klari enjoyed travel whether road trips with her husband and son, or later in life numerous trips to Europe and the Middle East to visit relatives and friends, or her many Elderhostel (Road Scholar) educational trips. But her main love was always teaching music and arts appreciation to children. She radiated an inner light as her life exemplified what David Brooks has termed “eulogy values” such as kindness, deep love, humility, and generosity of spirit while also achieving career success doing what she loved doing. She taught her son to be non-judgmental, fair to all, and always considerate of others’ needs. She will be missed but her lessons will live on. Arrangements entrusted jointly to Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene and Parkside Memorial Chapel in Queens, New York. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at www.musgroves.com.