Ann K (Sunstein) Kheel (1915 - 2003)

Ancestors

Wife of Theodore Woodrow Kheel — married 1 Jul 1937 in Bellport, New York, USA

Descendants

Died 28 Dec 2003 at age 88 in Bronx, Bronx, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: David Zuckerman [send private message], AJ Jacobs [send private message], and Jane Stanley [send private message]

Biography

Ann was born in 1915. She was the daughter of Elias Sunstein and Gertrude Kingsbacher.

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1936. She married Theodore Kheel the summer after he graduated from Cornell Law School. The marriage took place in Bellport, New York, in the summer of 1937 at her parent's summer home. (Text of announcement in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette below.)

Ann worked as a journalist, editor, government information specialist, and raised six children with Theodore.

She passed away in 2003. The National Urban League wrote a memorial statement in her honor including this morsel: "Gentle soul that she was, she was nonetheless a freedom fighter, in the best traditions of the civil rights movement, combining compassion with a rock-ribbed determination to see to it that progress was made in expanding the boundaries of opportunity."

Senior Yearbook caption

Pittsburg, PA, Arts and Sciences. Prepared at Schenley High School.  Alpha Epsilon Phi; Phi Beta Kai; Phi Kappa Phi; Mortar Board; Raven and Serpent; Tennis 1, 2, 3' Conference for Friends of Works Committee 3, 4; W.S.G.A. Council 4; C.U.R.W. Women's Cabinet 3; C.U.R.W. Joint Board 3; Women's Debate Club; Hillel; Vice-President of Balch II, 4; The Cornell Daily Sun Board, Associate Women's Editor 3, Women's Editor, 4.

Wedding Announcement

2 Jul 1937, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Sunstein Marriage in Bellport - Ceremony Performed In Elias Sunstein's Summer Home. - The marriage of Miss Ann Sunstein and Theodore Woodrow Kheel took place in Bellport, New York, yesterday at noon. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elias Sunstein of Aylesboro avenue, Pittsburgh, and the bridegrooms's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kheel of New York. Rabbi B. Benedict Glazer of Temple Emanu-el, New York, formerly of Temple Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh, performed the ceremony. The bride, who was given in marriage by her father, wore a white satin gown with marquisette redingote. Her tulle veil fell from a band of pearls, and she carried a sheaf of calla lilies. Miss Frances Sunstein was her sister's maid of honor, and Julian Kheel served as his brother's best man. C. Richard and David E. Sunstein, brothers of the bride, were ushers. Following the ceremony at the summer home of the bride's family, the wedding breakfast took place in the Wyandotte Hotel in Bellport. Among the Pittsburghers who went on for the wedding were Mrs. A. J. Sunstein, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Speyer and Mr. and Mrs. William K. Frank. Mr. Kheel is a graduate of Cornell University with the class of 1935 and of Cornell Law School in 1937. Mrs. Kheel was graduated from Cornell in 1936, and was this year, assistant editor of the Cornell "Alumni News" and columnist of the Ithaca "Journal."

Obituary

Ann Sunstein Kheel, who passed away on December 28, 2003, was the beloved wife of Theodore W. Kheel, a nationally prominent arbitrator and mediator. The Kheel Center is named after both of them. Mrs. Kheel was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University, Class of 1936.

Mrs. Kheel was a journalist and government information specialist who was influential in civic and charitable affairs in New York. She was chairwoman of the State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission for the City of New York between 1977-86. She also served the New York Urban League as the secretary of its Board for twenty-five years, beginning in the mid-1960's and was the founder of its annual Frederick Douglass Awards Dinner (which raised millions of dollars over the twenty-five years she ran it and is still an annual event). Over the years, she served as a trustee of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as well as the Rainforest Alliance and in various capacities, on panels and boards of a number of charitable and local governmental boards. She also served on the Advisory Board of the Catherwood Library, the parent institution of the Kheel Center.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Kheel is survived by five daughters, Ellen K. Jacobs, Constance E. Kheel, Dr. Marti Kheel, Jane K. Stanley, and Katherine K. Fleischman; her son, Robert J.; eleven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Mrs. Kheel was a kind and generous individual who took great pride in her University and this Center. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Obituary from Catherwood Library Kheel Center

• "Ancestry: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Cornell University, Seniors 1936. (Ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/43900_b290871-00132?pId=456934774 : 9 January 2021.) Photo attached to profile and caption rewritten above.

• Cornell University Kheel Center website. Ann Sunstein Kheel Biography on Cornell University website

• Cornell University Kheel Center website. Ann Kheel - National Urban League Memorial Statement (link not working 10 Jan 2021.)

• "Sunstein Marriage in Bellport." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 Jul 1937, pg. 14. found at Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/90300424). Text added above. Photo added as source.

• "US Census, 1920" database online. Pittsburgh Ward 14, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1522; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 543; Image: 766.

• "US Census, 1930" database online. Pittsburg ED 220 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; Roll 1977, sheet 36A, line 11, family 565, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCCC-D9L : 8 January 2021).

• "US, Census, 1940" database online. Arlington ED 7-13, Virginia, United States; Roll 4245, sheet 24A, line 19, family 765, NARA digital publication T627.

Research Notes

1. Birthdate: Have tried to find the birth dates in Pennsylvania, but records for 1915 and prior show no birth. 1916 records should be released in January 2021. No success (Leighton-1420 13:32, 10 Jan 2021 (PST))
2. Middle Name: 1930 US Census has her with a K. Familysearch.org version of her has Kingsbacher added 17 Apr 2019; No success (Leighton-1420 13:32, 10 Jan 2021 (PST))