Eleanore Leavenworth, 92, bookkeeper, grief counselor

Eleanore Weinstein Polsky Leavenworth, 92, of Maple Shade, a former group leader with a grief counseling group in Moorestown, died Saturday, June 11, at the Medford Care Center.

In retirement from her career as a bookkeeper, Mrs. Leavenworth worked with H.O.P.E., which assists recently widowed people of all ages.

After the death of her first husband, Ben Polsky, in the late 1980s, she worked from then into the 1990s for the organization, Helping Other People Evolve Inc., said a son, David Polsky.

The agency, whose second-floor offices at the Moorestown Community House were heavily damaged in a fire in November 2015, now operates from basement offices there.

H.O.P.E. operates chapters in six South Jersey counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, and Mercer.

"Eleanore was a sweetheart," said Shelley Lightman, who had known her since the 1970s. "She was my late mother-in-law's best friend."

"Our families grew up together," she said. Mrs. Leavenworth was "a dear and loving woman."

Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Leavenworth grew up in Wynnefield and briefly attended Temple University before marrying Ben Polsky when she was 18, during World War II.

When he returned from naval duty, she became a bookkeeper for a life insurance firm in Philadelphia in the 1950s and, after the family moved to South Jersey in the 1960s, she had a similar job for a medical center in Camden County.

After her husband died in the late 1980s, she retired and was a guest at H.O.P.E., where she became a counselor and met there and married her second husband, George Leavenworth.

Besides her son David Polsky, she is survived by son Steven Polsky, stepson William Leavenworth, stepdaughter Laura Young, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husbands.

A visitation was set from 11:45 a.m. Sunday, June 19, at Platt Memorial Chapels, 2001 Berlin Rd., Cherry Hill, before a 12:15 p.m. memorial service there.

Donations may be sent to the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation, 6701 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, Md. 20817.

Condolences may be offered to the family at plattmemorial.com.

wnaedele@phillynews.com 610-313-8134 @WNaedele