Blanche E. Sosland died on July 5 at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kansas, following an extended illness. She was 90 years old.
Born on March 10, 1936, Blanche was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, teacher and friend, blessing many in her wide orbit with love, kindness and treasured guidance.
The daughter of Moses and Kate Eisemann, who had settled in the United States two years earlier after fleeing from Nazi Germany, Blanche grew up in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where her father had secured a job as a chemist for the American Smelting and Refining Co.
At a time when bar mitzvah ceremonies were held only for men, Blanche was the third woman in the United States to mark her coming of age with a bat mitzvah, held at Congregation Beth Mordecai in Perth Amboy. She was active in synagogue activities throughout her formative years and was elected a national vice president of United Synagogue Youth in high school. As a member of her high school debate team, Blanche participated in a televised 1953 event and was quoted in a New York Times article for her comments opposing an overly restrictive immigration policy.
In 1958, Blanche graduated Barnard College and Columbia University with a degree in German language and literature, and only weeks later she and Neil N. Sosland married in a ceremony at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. After honeymooning in Jamaica, Neil and Blanche moved back to his hometown of Kansas City, their home base for the next 68 years.
Committed to providing their five children a rich Jewish education, Blanche and Neil were part of a small group of young Jewish parents in Kansas City who in 1966 decided to launch a Jewish day school, originally named the Hebrew Academy of Greater Kansas City (now, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA)). Eventually, all five of their children graduated from HBHA, as well as eight of their grandchildren. Another two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren currently attend the school. Blanche was closely involved in school affairs during the Academy’s early years.
While raising five children, Blanche pursued several interests. She was a Great Books facilitator and an enthusiastic amateur painter. She was active in numerous organizations, including at Congregation Beth Shalom in Kansas City, serving as president of its Sisterhood for two years. She was a founding board member and past president of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Blanche served on the board of the Jewish Federation of Kansas City for several years, including a term as vice president.
In the early 1970s, when her youngest child entered school, Blanche enrolled in graduate school to study reading education and graduated with a PhD. in education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1983. While in graduate school, she joined the faculty of Park College (now Park University) in 1979 and served as a faculty member there for 21 years, starting as an adjunct professor, rising to full professor and eventually to chair of its education department. At Park, she prepared generations of aspiring teachers to effectively instruct children how to read.
Her areas of expertise included diagnosis and remediation of reading problems in the classroom and creating instructional strategies for twice exceptional children, students who are both gifted and learning disabled.
Blanche was the author of three books, two focused on the need to address bullying: “Banishing Bullying Behavior” (two editions with coauthor SuEllen Fried) and “Banishing Bullying Behavior: A Call to Action.” Her third book, “Identification and Intervention for Twice and Thrice Exceptional Students,” reflected her longstanding passion for helping educators and families better understand children with exceptional abilities and learning challenges. Through her writing, teaching and speaking, she shared her expertise with educators, parents and students throughout the United States and beyond.
Blanche participated in several Missouri State Department of Education evaluation teams and served on the education committee of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. She was a member of the Truman Library Education Committee during the creation of the White House Decision Center.
Even as she loved her adopted home of Kansas City, Blanche missed the time she spent at the beach growing up, and after retirement, she and Neil enjoyed many winters on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and summers in Cotuit on Cape Cod, where she was an avid fan of the Cotuit Kettleers (while remaining a faithful follower of the Chiefs and the Royals). Blanche and Neil also took adventurous trips later in life to destinations that included Antarctica, Russia, Turkey, Greece and China. At home, she was a formidable Scrabble foe in hours-long games against her children and grandchildren. In later years, she enjoyed playing Words with Friends with a small army of opponents.
For 15 years following her retirement, Blanche spearheaded a program at Congregation Beth Shalom aimed at reviving the synagogue’s daily services, helping ensure the requisite 10 adults were present to allow mourners to recite the Kaddish prayer. Thanks to her relentless efforts and the dedicated work of others on the Minyan Maker program, the daily minyan at Beth Shalom continues to thrive.
Survivors include her husband, Neil; children Debbie (Alan), Josh (Jane), Abby (Mark), Jeffrey (Mindy) and David (Rachel); grandchildren Alex, Katja (Ari), Jonathan, Sam, Max (Joanna), Zachary, Leah, Henry, Kate, Sophie, Lily, Ethan, Gabrielle, Jacob and Juliet; great-grandchildren Noa, Kobi, Rahm and Nili; sister Ruth Fost; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on July 7 at 10:30 a.m. at Louis Memorial Chapel (6830 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO) with burial to follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (5801 W. 115th Street, Overland Park, KS 66211).
