Former JFS executive director Julanne R. Haspel Issacson laid to rest

JULANNE ROSE (HASPEL) ISSACSON, the former executive director of Jewish Family Service of New Orleans (JFS) for more than two decades, died peacefully in her home on Saturday, May 27, 2023. She was 98.

JULANNE R. H. ISSACSON

She spent most of her career as the executive director of Jewish Family Service of New Orleans where she served from 1973 until she retired in 1994. In addition to her professional work, Julanne was a devoted volunteer at such places as the New Orleans chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), where she served as president. She also volunteered to work at the LSU School of Medicine, the Tulane University School of Social Work, the Jefferson Parish League of Women Voters, the Woldenberg Village; and was a docent at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Issacson was the recipient of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Hannah Solomon award for community leadership and commitment in 1994.

She was the Social Worker of the Year award from the Louisiana chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 1977 and also received the association’s Lifetime Achievement award in 1993.

Born in 1924 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, she moved to New Orleans with her family as a child. She graduated from Sophie Newcomb College in 1945 where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received a master’s degree in social work from Tulane University in 1965, after which she worked at Family Service Society of New Orleans until 1971, when she became the Executive Director of Travelers Aid Society.

Pre-deceased by her husband Irwin Isaacson, she is survived by three children from her first marriage to William Haspel, Jr.: Katherine (Kit) Haspel (Paul Silver); Judith Haspel (Robert Ancira); and Tom Haspel (the late Kitty Bliss Haspel); two stepchildren: Walter Isaacson (Cathy) and Lee Isaacson (Cynthia); five grandchildren, one step-grandchild, and five great-grandchildren.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to: the Julanne Isaacson fund at Jewish Family Service of New Orleans. Funeral services were private.