06/09/2022
Dione Louise Danis passed away peacefully on the morning of May 26, 2022, at the age of ninety. Small in stature, but with outsized intellect and wit, Dione lived for her loved ones. She was exceptionally generous, supporting her family and her causes, readily giving to anyone or any issue needing her help.
Dione was a respected and celebrated educator, employed as an English teacher in the Tenafly school district for over thirty years. Her belief in education and the beauty of literature continued long into retirement, where she led adult classes at Temple Emeth on literature from a Jewish perspective.
Dione adored her grandchildren. She never spared others her opinion, even if (or sometimes because) it was unpopular. When dementia caused her to lose her words, like a thesaurus she found an alternative, sometimes poetic way to describe her experience. She held fast to her relationship with her devoted husband Ben, she joked and quipped, and always hugged back.
She is survived by her husband Ben Ward; daughter Susan and son-in-law Louis Ekaireb; daughter-in-law Amy Robbins, and grandchildren Hillary Robbins and husband Andy Mullins, Austin Ekaireb, Sara Ekaireb, and her husband Jonathan Kunis. Previous husbands Joseph Danis and Seymour Lefton and son Gordon Danis predeceased her. In keeping with Dione’s devotion to teaching, please consider a donation to the Temple Emeth Adult Education fund.
