Reuben Pannor, 1922-2012
Pioneer adoption reformer and adoptee rights advocate Dr. Reuben Pannor died yesterday at the age of 90. I never had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Pannor but am familiar with his work and the great honor he bears in the reform movement. Below is is Reuben’s obituary, written by his son Jonathan and posted on the CUB list by Karen Vedder. I had no idea what an interesting man he was inside and outside of adoption). Reuben “Ruby” Pannor, a social worker and pioneer in the field of open adoption, died on December 22nd, 2012, at the age of 90. A man overflowing with kindness and empathy, Reuben was universally loved by family, friends, colleagues, and all of those in the “adoption triangle” (birthparents, adopted persons, and adoptive parents). Reuben and his twin brother Harry were born on July 4th, 1922, to Rose and Isidor Pannor in the small village of Slobodka, in Lithuania. The twins and their younger sister Esther spent their early childhood surrounded by generations of extended family. In response to growing anti-Jewish sentiment prior to World War II, Reuben’s immediate family immigrated to America when Reuben was eight years old. Reuben grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, where his Continue Reading →