Carole Eisner Bolensky was born on April 21, 1937 in the Bronx, NY, the second child of Lillian Gozansky, a homemaker and bookkeeper and David L. Eisner, an insurance salesman. Carole had a very happy childhood growing up on Boynton Avenue in the Bronx, with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins nearby.
Carole was very bright and skipped two grades and was part of the IGC for gifted children. She began studying acrobatics and dance at a young age and eventually attended the High School for Performing Arts where she focused on modern dance.
After high school she attended Adelphi College, where she majored in dance and speech & drama. Carole adored college, rooming with her best friends, performing in school plays and doing the lights for the plays, for which she was allowed to miss curfew. She was even her dorm fire marshal!
After she graduated Adelphi in 1957, Carole was offered a one year position teaching dance at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, which turned out to be one of her greatest adventures. When Carole returned home from Oklahoma, she attended Columbia Teacher’s College and became a speech therapist in the New York City public school system, a job she loved.
In 1959, Carole married Rabbi Harry Bolensky, spiritual leader of Midchester Jewish Center in Yonkers. They were married for nearly 20 years before his untimely death. Together they had 4 daughters, all raised in the Yonkers home where Carole resided until her passing.
Carole, affectionately known as “Ma” by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many others, taught by example and loved with all her might. She gave her family love and strength and taught them to be resilient, optimistic and happy, even in times of adversity. After her husband’s death she focused on raising her children, then 19, 16, 9 and 2 and providing them with happy memories, especially their summers by the lake in Becket, Massachusetts.
Carole was adventurous, independent, and strong. In 1983, she drove her children on a 4 week long trip cross country. In 1989 she took a sabbatical from teaching and spent 5 months in Israel with her two youngest children. In 2002, she and one of her daughters and one of her granddaughters traveled to England, Ireland, Scotland and Whales for the adventure of a lifetime. These were among her favorite experiences and favorite memories. Ultimately though, there was nothing Carole enjoyed more than just spending time with her family who all loved her so deeply.
Carole passed away on December 2, 2024 surrounded by her family. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Allen Eisner, her beloved husband, Rabbi Harry Bolensky, her daughter Sarah Bolensky and her daughter Lillian Backer. She is survived by her daughters and sons in law: Frimet & Bryan Herstic, Shira & Steven Manheimer, and David Backer; her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Rabbi Seth & Amira Herstic, Zevadya and Shalev; Brooke and Josh Katz, Isaiah, Norah and Juliet; Naama and Zach Kfare, Hadas, Lev and Or-Tzion; Kayla Herstic; Harry Backer & Molly Leibel; Hannah & Rabbi Ben Book, Emunah and Leah; Samuel Backer; and Leora Manheimer.
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