Mother of two Harvard residents, writer, independent scholar
Janet Hays. (Courtesy photo)
Janet Adelson (Ginsburg) Hays, age 88, a resident of New York, New York, died Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.
She is survived by five children: James Adelson and his wife, Deborah Sheetz, of Harvard, Lisa Eisenberg and her husband, Paul Eisenberg, of Harvard, Joshua Adelson and his wife, Kimberly Collins, of Sharon, Nancy Allison and her husband, Kenneth Allison, of Sharon, and Andrew Adelson and his wife, Judith Saxe, of Wellesley; 13 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and her brother Harold Ginsburg and his wife, Janet Ginsburg, of Wellesley. She was predeceased by her husband, David Hays, who died in 1995; her first husband, William Adelson, who died in 1991; and her brother Sidney Ginsburg, who died in 2002.
Janet was born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio, the daughter of the late Marcus Ginsburg and Sara Caplan Ginsburg. Janet was a graduate of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, and received her master’s degree in social work from Simmons College in Boston. Following her education, she resided in Syracuse, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Stuttgart, Germany; and Watertown before living for 15 years in Sudbury. In 1974 she moved to Buffalo, New York, where she lived with her second husband until their move to New York City in 1980.
While in Sudbury, Janet held a number of roles in Temple Beth El, including serving as head of the religious school. With her move to New York City, she held marketing posts at a number of architectural firms.
In 2003, Bonus Books of Chicago and Los Angeles published Janet’s “Retire in New York City—Even If You’re Not Rich.” The book was well received, with interviews from NPR and many publications, and Janet received a letter of appreciation from then Mayor Michael Bloomberg. At the time of her death, Janet was working on a book on the Works Progress Administration.
Janet’s funeral was held Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, at the Pleasant Manor Funeral Home, Thornwood, New York, with burial following at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in the name of Janet A. Hays to the New York Public Library or to Fort Tryon Park Trust.
