Remembering Miriam Wazeter

We are deeply sadden by the news of the passing of Miriam Wazeter, a dear friend to many of us in our group and the beloved wife of long time member John Wazeter, who passed away four years ago. She died February 13, in San Diego, California, with her immediate family close to her.

Though Miriam was not a photographer herself, she was often a merry part of our group’s activities, full of lively spirit. After our meetings and outings, she would join John and us at the restaurants we met at, such as Teresa’s, Amelia’s, Maud’s, Olympic Flame and Old John’s, keeping us entertained with funny stories and good humor. She and John hosted many Sierra Photo get togethers, slide shows, and New Year’s Day parties at their home in Hastings on Hudson, NY. Her cooking for these events, including a variety of pastas, salads and fruit cakes, was sublime. These get togethers really contributed to our group’s cohesion at the time.

Aside from all she did for Sierra Photo, Miriam lived a full and productive life as committed philanthropy professional, primarily in the field of Jewish Philanthropy. After earning her B.S.W. in Social Welfare at Concordia University, she moved to New York where she became the Director of Foundation Relations at the American Friends of Hebrew University. Her previous work experience included Hadassah, the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Central Park Conservancy. Miriam Wazeter also served as Director of Research at Pace University and had the pleasure of serving as Manager of Research at the Ms. Foundation for Women. She continued to work late into her life for the non-profit ELEM/ Youth in Distress in Israel as a Grants and Research Analyst.

After John’s death, she moved to San Diego to be close to her daughter and family.

At this time, there are no planned services for her in the NYC area but there will be a celebration of her life in San Diego in the next few months. Condolences and sympathy can be sent to her daughter and family c/o Tanya Hackel at tanyahackel@yahoo.com or by mail: Tanya Hackel, 5215 Soledad Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92109.

Miriam will be buried at the Mt. Olivet cemetery in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, next to her beloved husband, John. The family will have a funeral for her at the cemetery chapel, on March 13 at 11:00 am EST. If you are able to attend, please contact Tanya, and she will share the additional details with you.

We will always remember Miriam fondly and the happy times we had with both her and John.