Fern Klapper Danalewich

February 2, 1970 to December 15, 2004. After a courageous battle with breast cancer, Fern passed away peacefully on Wednesday night at her home in White Plains, with her family at her side. She was 34 years old.

Fern is a graduate of Simmons College and earned her Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1996. She co-authored a documentary on how siblings and peers can cope with loved ones with anorexia and bulimia. Upon graduation Fern joined Weill Medical College of Cornell University on the staff of the Eating Disorder Unit. While at Weill Cornell, Fern helped to develop more effective treatments for people with eating disorders. She particularly enjoyed working with teenagers and families.

Psychology was in the fiber of Fern's being; it was her innate ability to hear, connect with and move people along in a loving, generous way that defined both her life and her work. Fern's ability to continue to help others, even at the very end, is truly an inspiration. Fern's greatest gifts to the world were her profound sense of connectedness, her ability to understand and help others, and her generous spirit. She will be sorely missed by all those who knew her.

Fern is survived by her loving and devoted husband James Danalewich, her parents Stanley and Deborah Klapper of West Nyack, her brother and sister-in-law Brian and Patricia Klapper of New Canaan, and her nieces Alexandra and Danielle and nephew Joshua.

Funeral service will be held December 17, 2004 at 11:00AM at the Ballard-Durand Funeral Home 2 Maple Avenue at South Broadway White Plains, NY. Interment will be private.

Contributions in her memory may be made to New York Presbyterian; c/o Robert Lane; 525 E. 68th Street; Box 123; New York, NY 10021; please specify Fern Klapper Fund. Contributions will be used to continue Fern's work through the Eating Disorder Unit of Weill Cornell.