Madeline Kipnes

Madeline Kipnes
It is with great sadness that the family of Madeline Lee Kipnes announce her passing on Wednesday December
29th, 2021
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1939, Maddy was the first child born to Sol and Sarah Rosenburg. The small
family expanded several years later with the arrival of her sister Elaine. Maddy was a fun-loving child, and a
sociable, energetic, and confident teenager. She blossomed into a beautiful young lady and in 1956 entered
and won a local Beauty Pageant and was featured in the local newspaper. After graduating High School,
Maddy went on to work at McCall’s magazine, often referred to as ‘the first magazine for women’, with a
regular column by Eleanor Roosevelt. Maddy loved commuting into Manhattan and was drawn to the energy
and buzz of New York City. At McCall’s she not only made friends but began to develop what became a lifelong
interest in popular culture, art, and literature.
Around this time, Maddy met Irv Kipnes. He surprised her (and her parents) when he arrived to collect her for
their first date on a motorcycle. She was attracted by his good looks and sense of adventure, and a strong
romance quickly developed. They married in 1958 and moved to Sacramento, CA, later welcoming the arrival
of their first child, Andy. After a few years in the Golden State, Irv’s career progressed, and new opportunities
drew the young couple to cross the country once again, this time to Massachusetts. But with the arrival of
their second child Debbie in 1962, they wanted to be closer to their roots. They subsequently moved back to
New York and settled in Huntington, Long Island. In 1968, the couple welcomed their third child, Bart and
shortly thereafter they moved to nearby Hauppauge. Her Brooklyn based parents commentated that they
thought this sounded like she was ‘moving to the wilderness’.
Maddy embraced the suburbs of Long Island, meeting lots of new friends and later returned to work. Over the
course of the next twenty years, Maddy would work in retail and later at the Reproductive Endocrinology and
Infertility Clinic at Stony Brook University Hospital. Her love of books and art never went away, and she
enthusiastically took up painting, pottery, and sculpture during her free time.
In the mid 1990’s, Maddy and Irv purchased a second home in Surprise, Arizona where Maddy could escape
the harsh New York winters and spend more time with her daughter, Debbie. She loved getting to know a new
community, it suited her vivacious and peppy personality. She was fascinated with the Sonoran Desert
landscape and history of the area, which inspired a lot of her artwork at that time. With more free time on her
hands, Maddy enthusiastically participated in archaeological excavations in the surrounding areas. When back
in New York, Maddy delighted in social gatherings with friends over a game of mahjong or a simple lunch with
family at a local restaurant.
In 1999, Maddy became a grandmother for the first time, with the arrival of Dylan. Over the course of the next
few years, she was thrilled to welcome three more grandchildren – Maxx, Dalton and Bryce. She took extreme
pride in each grandchild and their accomplishments and loved watching them all grow into confident young
men.
With a love of nature and the outdoors– Maddy enjoyed spending time with animals especially Debbie’s
horses and dogs in Arizona and most recently Chelsea, Zoe, and Flash in New York. Her naturally curious spirit
meant that she loved to travel whenever she could – all over the United States, as far as Alaska. And several
trips in Europe with Irv created some special memories.
Maddy was a bold, smart, and thoughtful woman who cared deeply for her family and friends. She was
intensely proud of the success of her three children and always ready to support them with advice or lend a
hand when they needed it. A passionate conversationalist, she was always animated, entertaining, and
generous with her thoughts and opinions. She was perpetually social, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting and
getting to know people.

We will never forget someone who gave us so much to remember. Maddy will be dearly missed by her
husband of 64 years, Irv; Children, Andy, Debbie, and Bart; grandchildren, Dylan, Maxx, Dalton, and Bryce; Son
in law Don, daughter in law Andrea and devoted dog Chelsea; as well as numerous other family members and
friends who loved her.
In honoring Maddy’s memory, we ask that you take a moment to hug your partner, child, grandchild, or friend;
walk in the woods for a moment, an hour, or a day; or sit down with loved ones to chat, debate, laugh and cry.
Our time on earth is precious.

In lieu of flowers, the family ask that a donation be made to a charity of your personal choice, or to The
Leukemia and Lymphoma society https://www.lls.org/