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Elinor Betty Kalisher was born 5 September, 1904 in San Francisco, the daughter of Edward Kalisher and Theresa Paula Dinkelspiel. She married Isaac Hamburger on 12 March, 1928 in New York City. They had two children, Edward Kalisher Hamburger (1930-2009) and Henry Isaac Hamburger (1933-2015).
Elinor was Alice Silverman Benioff’s first cousin, and she was my first cousin twice removed. She was also the granddaughter of Lazarus Dinkelspiel and Pauline Hess. She wrote a great deal, under her maiden name (Betty Kalisher) and published many political essays in the Baltimore Sun. She also wrote a book called “The Night Watchman”. In her older years she received awards for her volunteer activities, such as United Way’s Irving Blum Award. She was president of the Maryland Advocates for the Aging, a Gray Panther group.
She died of cancer on 31 May, 1990 in Baltimore, Maryland.
“Services for Betty K. Hamburger, a former retail merchandising executive and civic activist who became a passionate advocate for the again, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Sol Levinson & Bros. Home, 6010 Reisterstown Road.
Mrs. Hamburger died of cancer Thursday at her Pikesville home. She was 85.
Born in San Francisco, the former Betty Kalisher attended the Ethical Culture School in New York City and received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College and her master of political science from the Johns Hopkins University.
She came to Baltimore in 1926. She married Isaac Hamburger, owner of the Hamburger’s clothing chain, where she worked as advertising director and in public relations until her retirement in 1968, when the family business was sold. Mr. Hamburger died in 1960.
After her retirement from Hamburger’s, Mrs. Hamburger worked for the elderly.
A board member of the Maryland Conference of Social Concern and the Maryland State Commission on Aging, she was also the founder and first president of the Maryland Advocates for the Aging.
In 1978 she went undercover for the House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging during an investigation of fraud and unethical practices in the sale of health policies to the elderly.
Mrs. Hamburger was honored on her 79th birthday in 1983 at Temple Oheb Shalom for her long and distinguished record of community service. In February 1984, she was presented with the “Best of Baltimore’s Best” award for her outstanding work and contributions to the betterment of the city’s quality of life.
Mrs. Hamburger was a former president of the Jewish Educational Alliance and the Jewish Community Center. She was the founder and first president of Maryland Advocates for the Aging.
Active in Democratic politics, she was co-chairwoman of the Baltimore Campaign for the re-election of Gov. Harry Hughes in 1982.
Mrs. Hamburger is survived by two sons, Edward K. Hamburger of Baltimore and Henry I. Hamburger of Leonia, N.J., four grandsons and four granddaughters.
On May 31, 1990, BETTY K. (nee Kalisher), beloved wife of the late Isaac Hamburger, beloved mother of Edward K. Hamburger of Baltimore and Henry I. Hamburger of Leonia, New Jersey, beloved grandmother of Mrs. Marjorie Hamburger-Hampton, Isaac Kahn, Sidney K., Merle E. and Martin J. Hamburger, Eleanor, Susan and Sarah T. Hamburger.
Services at Sol Levinson & Bros. Home, 6010 Reisterstown road on Sunday, June 3, at 2PM. Interment in Oheb Shalom Congregation Cemetery, O’Donnell street. Please omit flowers. “
