Evelyn Kornberg, Democrat party activist, dead at 91

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Evelyn Kornberg, a retired city employee, died Dec. 26. She was 91 years old.

Kornberg was active in Democratic politics and in Temple Emanu-El and its Sisterhood. A Hawai'i Kai resident, she worked in senior citizen outreach for the City and County of Honolulu.

Kornberg was born in Brooklyn. She worked as a millinery buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and at the Rockefeller Foundation.

Her husband, Jack, was a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Party, and the two of them helped coordinate the Democratic National Convention in 1960.

The family moved to Hawai'i in 1964.

Her daughter, Dodie MacArthur, characterized her mother as "very liberal and opinionated."

"My mother was a remarkable, bright woman," she said. "We never thought of her as an old person — she always had new ideas. She never stopped learning."

In addition to her daughter, Kornberg is survived by a granddaughter, two grandsons and a great-granddaughter.

A celebration of Kornberg's life is will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Temple Emanu-El, 2550 Pali Highway.

The family requests memorial contributions to Temple Emanu-El, attention Rabbi Morris Goldfarb Educational Fund.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.