Miriam S. Eldar

    Miriam S. Eldar, a retired architect and author who loved to hunt for wild mushrooms, died on May 29 at home in Water Mill. She was 86.

    She was born Miriam Kohan in Warsaw on Jan. 1, 1925, the daughter of Dr. Syrkin Kohan, a bacteriologist, and Dr. David Kohan, a surgeon. In 1940, she escaped the Nazi occupation with her mother. She obtained a degree in architecture from the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. While studying there she met her future husband, Jake Eldar, a structural engineer.

    In 1958, she immigrated to the U.S., where she worked as an architect and later with the McGraw-Hill publishing company. There she developed an electronic information system for architects and the construction industry. She was elected a fellow in the Construction Specifications Institute. When Ms. Eldar retired from McGraw-Hill she continued to work as an independent consultant.

    Livia Yanowicz, her niece, said she often hunted mushrooms with her aunt “in secret places.” Ms. Eldar was a passionate gardener, she said. The Eldars lived on Ferry Road on North Haven for 22 years. After Mr. Eldar died, she moved to Little Noyac Path in Water Mill, where, Ms. Yanowicz said, she started a whole new life at the age of 72.

    “She planted a new garden and made new friends. She loved the community. The East End made her life worth living. Long Beach in Noyac was her favorite place on earth, outside her garden, of course,” she said.

    Ms. Eldar was cremated, and a memorial service was held in her garden, attended by more than 60 close friends, Ms. Eldar’s niece said.