It is with great sorrow that we inform you of the death of Elizabeth Barbara Koenig of Bethesda, Maryland, on Feb. 10, after a short illness. Liz absolutely adored and was devoted to every member of her family, including her husband of 63 years, Carl, her children, Katherine and Kenneth, her grandchildren, Sarah and Henry, and her nieces and nephews, Cynthia, Richard, Mark and Ilene, all of whom survive her. Liz was predeceased by her brother Morty, his wife Andrée, Carl’s sister, Jean, and many other beloved relatives of her generation and older. Liz was dearly loved by all her family and friends and will be sorely missed.
A woman of many accomplishments and boundless energy, Liz was an artist whose sculpture and woodcuts were exhibited both nationally and internationally, an enthusiastic European traveler, Francophile, gardener, avid reader on a wide array of topics in both French and English and a graduate of Yale Medical School and Wellesley College. Liz was born in New York City on April 20, 1937, and grew up in Queens. She attended Yale School of Medicine, where she was one of five women out of 80 in the class of 1962. Her pioneering early work on autosomal chromosome abnormalities, specifically trisomy 13, was published in The Lancet and in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. She was chosen as the member of her graduating class to present her research at commencement.
In 1979, Liz and Carl were able to fulfill their dream of owning a home in France and purchased a condo in Neuilly-sur-Seine, on the western border of Paris. In her last few years, Liz set aside sculpting and devoted much of her time to learning Greek and Roman history (reading many historical works) and enjoying a variety of magazines in French and English on archaeology, architecture, astronomy and textiles. At the same time, she continued to maintain her vast azalea garden (and dozens of indoor plants).
In lieu of flowers, donations in Liz’s memory may be made to the American Friends of Magen David Adom, which benefits Israel’s emergency medical services. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.