Julia Ann Epstein
Julia Ann Epstein left this world on Friday, 3 April 2026 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida after a brief illness. She was 84. She was born on 13 April 1941 at Brooklyn, New York, the eldest daughter of David Gertler (1903-1982) and Ruth Teiber (1911-1997).
Julia was educated in public schools at Brooklyn and Queens, including Andrew Jackson High School (1957) in Cambria Heights, Queens. She attended Syracuse University from which she earned a BA in 1961. The highlight of her college career was a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, which she spoke of throughout her adult life. She later earned a master’s degree in Computer Science at Michigan State University in the mid 1980s.
Julia married Joel Jacob Epstein (1937-2023) on 26 August 1962 at Hempstead, New York. Together they had two children: Roy Michael Epstein and Victoria Ann Epstein.
Julia started her work life as a social worker in New York City. She lived in Parsippany, New Jersey. Her first child, Roy was born in Livingston, New Jersey. In 1968, she and her husband and son relocated to Olivet, Michigan, a small college town in south central Michigan.
There she took courses at The University of Olivet (formally Olivet College), got her teaching certificate and began her 28 year-long teaching career as a fourth and fifth grade teacher in the Olivet School system. Julia had a passion for teaching that went well beyond expectations. She did meticulous prep work and was always the last one in her classroom after school each day. She was known and remembered by her students for doing a play each spring. Plays included “The Wizard of Oz,” “Tom Saywer,” and “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.”
Julia was a passionate patron of the arts. She loved theater, musicals, foreign films, and museums. She could easily spend an entire day in a museum and disliked the idea of missing any exhibits. She was an avid reader and some of her favorite books included “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “The Poisonwood Bible,” “Bel Canto,” “Cutting For Stone,” “Miss Morgans’ Book Brigade,” “A Doll’s House,” and “Corner of Bitter and Sweet.”
She traveled extensively throughout her life and was fascinated with other cultures and ways of life that were different from hers. She loved all word games and anything that challenged her mind. She was constantly learning and thrived on knowledge. She lived every moment to its fullest and often talked about how precious time was and how every moment was worthy.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Joel J Epstein. She is survived by her son Roy Epstein of Olivet, Michigan, by her daughter Victoria A Epstein and her husband Matt Wilcox of Portland, Oregon, and by her sister Frances Parisi of Levittown, New York. She is further survived by her nephew Alan David Fass (Nicole) of Merrimack, New Hampshire and niece Allyson Dugger-Fass (Lonnie) of Bellmore, New York.
A celebration of Julia’s life will be held at a later date in Michigan to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, Julia would be pleased if contributions were made to two of her favorite. Send donations to: Friends of the Charlotte Community Library, 226 S. Bostwick, Charlotte, MI 48813 or The Hollywood Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, Florida. Donations can be made at this link: https://artandculturecenter.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donations.