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Sally Wiesenfeld
SALLY WIESENFELD
Iowa City
Sally Wiesenfeld, 93, died March 3, 2017, at Oaknoll Retirement Community in Iowa City.
She was born in Chicago to Morris and Minnie Burle on Dec. 22, 1923, and married Julius Wiesenfeld on Sept. 27, 1947. They lived in Chicago until 1963, then moved to Cedar Falls, when Julie joined the faculty of UNI. Both were activists in progressive causes, he in labor and she in the peace movement. Julie died Nov. 23, 1979. Sally moved to Iowa City in 1988.
Sally was active in peace causes from the 1960s until recent years. She opposed the Vietnam War through local Citizens Against the War, Another Mother for Peace and Citizens for Peace. She recruited members, organized exhibits and workshops, raised funds, attended demonstrations and corresponded with legislators. In 1981, she attended the International Women's Day March in Washington, D.C.
Sally lived her life with determination and a will to survive, and she never stopped learning. She enjoyed courses in literature at the Iowa City Senior Center and rarely missed an issue of the New York Times. Friends describe her as articulate, thoughtful and strong. Her good humor and feisty spirit led her to adopt the name Grandma Hippie, and she was delighted when a hospice caretaker said to add Captain Cool. One of her great legacies: she persisted. Up until her last day, she was keen to discuss and learn more about current political events. Sally faced the end with grace and without fear.
Sally is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Martin and Diane Wiesenfeld; four grandchildren and their families, Joshua, Nina and Wesley Wiesenfeld, Ben, Jaime, Hannah and Jonathan Wiesenfeld, Nicky Wiesenfeld and Nicholas Arnold, and Sam Wiesenfeld; as well as nieces and nephews, Judi and Bunny, David, Ruth and their families. She was preceded in death by a sister, Faye Pasternack; and a brother, Carl Burle.
Sally donated her body to the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Instead of funeral or memorial services, Sally asked friends and family to remember her with a toast, L'Chaim!
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