Former NCJW president Phyllis Nitzkin dies; memorial on Sunday

PHYLLIS ROSENBERG NITZKIN, a former medical data analyst and bacteriologist lab technician, who was the president of the New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) from 2010 to 2012, died at her residence on Friday, February 16. She was 74.

PHYLLIS R. NITZKIN

Nitzkin was a born leader and helped play a major role in the development and growth of the Krewe du Mishigas, a Jewish-oriented Mardi Gras sub-krewe of the Krewe du Vieux, for the past 21 years. In addition to her work with NCJW, she was active in a number of Jewish community organizations.

 A native of  Detroit, she attended school and married her husband, Joel, three days after his medical school graduation in 1966. Prior to moving to New Orleans in 1989, they lived in Dallas, Atlanta, Frankfort Kentucky, Miami and Rochester, New York.

Nitzkin was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a bone marrow malignancy, in 2008. She survived the treatment and later became an avid scuba diver, traveling throughout the Caribbean and the Pacific ocean.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Dr. Joel L. Nitzkin; her two children; Aaron Daniel Nitzkin and Rikki Jennifer Nitzkin.

A visitation and memorial service was held at Touro Synogogue, 4238 St.Charles Ave, from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 25, 2018. The service was followed immediately by a reception at the family home in Uptown New Orleans.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her name to her favorite charities are preferred. These include the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section – to support their social and welfare initiatives –  the Myeloproliferative Diseases Foundation and the Jewish National Fund – supporting social and welfare initiatives, both here and in Israel.