Muriel G. Breslau

Muriel G. Breslau (nee Kaess) was born in New York on November 4, 1918, the eldest of three children of Israel and Kate Kaess. An outstanding student, Muriel graduated high school at 16 and attended New York's Hunter College. She attended graduate school at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. As part of her research for a Master's Degree, she conducted independent research, key punching data on early computer prototypes. Although she returned to New York upon graduation, she retained a lifelong love of education and science, encouraging her children and grandchildren to do the same. She also retained her love of Southern California. She met her husband Harry Breslau, an entrepreneur who established the Breslau Meat Packing Co. They married in 1942 and had two daughters, Ellyn (1946-1982) and Nanci, whom they raised in Kings Point, N.Y. After their children were grown they moved to Manhattan, regularly traveling to Palm Springs, Calif., where they retired in 1978. They were married 66 years until his death in June 2006. Muriel was always active socially and contributed generously to charitable causes. In New York, she served on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera, was active with Harry in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, traveling around the world with the group and organizing their groundbreaking trip to China in the 1970's. They collected antiques, objects d'art, and exquisite crafts over the years. After moving to Palm Springs, they became active locally, with Muriel serving on the Western Art Council, taking leadership roles in the Palm Springs Art Museum, helping to assemble their Modern and Western Art collections. After the untimely death of their daughter Ellyn, they dedicated a wing of the Desert Regional Medical Center in her honor. She remained active socially and in charitable causes well into her eighties. Muriel G. Breslau is survived by her daughter, Nanci Breslau Shaw; grandchildren, Ian and Kate Shaw; brother, Charles Kaess; niece, Lisa Kaess and nephew, Steven Kaess. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association of America.