Anita Hotchkiss died in Boston, surrounded by her loving family, on Dec. 23.

A celebration of her remarkable life will take place on June 3 at 10 a.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center.

Anita was born in June of 1938 into an educated and cultured Jewish family in Bielsko, Poland to Fanny and Emmanuel Mandelbaum. As the Germans approached Bielsko in 1940, the Mandelbaums fled east into the hands of the Russians. The family and many thousands of others were transported to “work camps” on the Siberian side of the Ural Mountains. Those family members who did not make the journey to Russia were victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

The war years must have been extraordinarily difficult for the Mandelbaums but Fanny and Emmanuel somehow raised a happy, cheerful child who later in life selectively recalled the stories and absurdities of those war years with great humor and positive memories. This would be a lifelong pattern for Anita. Always positive, optimistic, resilient, open and warm.

After the war the Mandelbaums moved back to Poland and tried to restart their lives. These were surprisingly happy times for Anita. Her beloved brother Henry, of blessed memory, was born in 1946 and they were extraordinarily close until his death in Toronto in 2012. The family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle traveling within Poland to enjoy skiing and beach holidays.

The Iron Curtain had, however, descended on Poland and Emmanuel and Fanny (lifelong Zionists) made the decision in emigrate to Haifa, Israel in 1951. Despite their best efforts, conditions were too difficult for the Mandelbaums to raise a family in Israel and in 1953 they moved once again to Winnipeg, Canada. Fanny and Emmanuel finally found peace and remained in Winnipeg for the rest of their lives, passing in the late 1970s.

At age 13 Anita found herself in yet another city, speaking yet another language. The open arms of the Jewish community in Winnipeg allowed the Mandelbaums to rapidly integrate. Anita was a bright, accomplished student who enjoyed a busy social life in that town. Connections to the Winnipeg community exist to this day.

Prior to entering college Anita was sent as an au pair to relatives in New Rochelle, N.Y. for the summer. At a temple dance she met Neal Pruzan, a local young man, and was in short order engaged and married. Thus, incredibly, turning her whole world upside down once again.

The couple lived in New City and then Eastchester, N.Y., making lifelong friends from those early days. Anita was 21 when Debra was born in 1960 followed by Daniel 11 months later. Trailblazer that she was, she proceeded over the next decade to put herself through college and then graduate school, achieving a doctorate in psychobiology with research at SUNY Purchase. All the while, with limited resources and constant juggling, she managed to raise two accomplished children. The family trait of ironic humor was passed on to Debbie and Dan who can recount many hilarious stories concerning their early years while Anita must have been burning the candle on both ends.

Her first marriage came to an end and in 1974 she moved with Debbie and Dan to take up a post doctoral position in behavioral genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a fruit fly specialist. As an academic she published prolifically but her true love was teaching. She moved on to a faculty position at Rutgers University, then assumed a post as a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Fitchburg. As an academic she was often recognized by the faculty and especially her students as an outstanding teacher and mentor. It was of particular pride to Anita that she inspired and mentored so many first generation college students at Fitchburg. Many of her colleagues and students would in later years be welcomed into the Hotchkiss home on Martha’s Vineyard.

During her later years at SUNY Purchase she met Fred Hotchkiss. Also an academic with a doctorate in invertebrate biology, he and Anita were a perfect match. They married in 1980. They shared a love of music, museums, food, travel (Anita traveled, Fred saw the photos), fossils, politics, and teaching. Above all was a love of family and friends. The blended family now included Fred’s two daughters Grace and Emily.

For Anita family always came first. As grandchildren arrived, she would drop everything to make herself available as Grandma. She took pride in their accomplishments and was ever ambitious for the grandchildren to succeed. She cooked, she hugged, she schlepped, she hugged some more, the kids could do no wrong. Grandma was adored by Jason and Alex Clain (Debbie’s boys), by Grace’s children Zachary, Sophie and Noah, and by Emily’s children, Connor, Matthew, Carly and Grace. She managed to fight her aggressive cancer long enough to celebrate and beam with pride at Jason’s wedding last summer to Alison Goodkind.

Upon retirement Fred and Anita’s lives took a fortunate turn. They inherited a Mink Meadows home in Vineyard Haven from Fred’s stepmother Prudence Hotchkiss. They sold their house in Harvard and gave the Vineyard a try. It was a return to Fred’s roots, and what an incredible turn of events that turned out to be. The Vineyard home became a gathering place for family. Many wonderful weeks were spent digging clams, fishing, cooking, lounging at the beach, reading, sailing, fishing, discussing politics and eating her delicious and abundant meals. Friends from off Island were frequently entertained and warmly welcomed. Moreover, they connected with a wonderful new group of like-minded people, many members of the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. Friendly, open, curious, generous, hospitable, socially conscious, warm and caring... that described the new friends on the Vineyard and of course Fred and Anita themselves.

Particularly in the last 20 years or so Anita traveled extensively. She summited Mount Kilimanjaro, did a sabbatical in China, visited Mongolia, Israel, Egypt, India, Patagonia, New Zealand, Tanzania, Russia, France, Italy, Canada, Poland. The list goes on. Top of her list were the barmitzvah journeys she took individually with Jason to Costa Rica and then Alex to Belize, followed by a trip with Alex and Fred to the Amazon and Machu Picchu. After she was diagnosed with lung cancer, her indomitable spirit and sunny outlook persuaded her to travel to Bhutan alone. Somehow she even conversed with the King. Her last trip, most meaningfully, was a girls’ trip to London with Debbie and Henry’s wife Thea in 2016.

Her family will remember her smile, optimism, humor, perseverance, resilience, intelligence, warmth, and openness. She loved people and her friends, but especially she loved her family. Anita Mandelbaum Hotchkiss was beloved and set a high bar for how to live a full life. In doing so she created a path of fundamental values, attitude and love..

She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Frederick Hotchkiss; her daughter Debra Pruzan Clain and son in law Michael Clain; her son Daniel Pruzan and daughter in law Anne Pruzan; stepdaughter Grace Scarano; stepdaughter Emily Coggins and her husband Bill; grandchildren Alexander Clain and Jason Clain and his wife Alison Goodkind Clain; step-grandchildren Zachary Scarano, Sophie Scarano, Noah Scarano, Connor Coggins, Matthew Coggins, Grace Coggins, and Carly Coggins; beloved cousins Charlotte and Barry Katzen and family; sister in law Thea Mandelbaum; and an enormous group of friends, colleagues and students.

Memorial gifts may be given to the Global Tzedakah (Charity) Fund at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. P.O. Box 692, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568