Libby Klaperman, Dead at 60

Libby Klaperman, author, writer and educator on Jewish history and religion, died Friday, after a long illness. She was 60 years old. The author of a number of children’s books, including novels and books on religious subjects, Klaperman wrote a four volume history, “The Story of the Jewish People,” published in collaboration with her husband, Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman, a leader of the Rabbinical Council of America and its incoming president. Klaperman, who came to this country as a young child from her native Minsk, in Russia, was a former professor of religious studies at Stern College and a member of the humanities faculty at Far Rockaway High School. She was also active in American Mizrachi Women and served as national education chairman of the Women’s Branch of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America for more than 20 years.