Emanu El Houston’s Congregant of the Year Award, named in loving memory of Ernest Krautkopf — a long time member and devoted volunteer — is given to each year to a congregant who exemplifies his legacy of community and synagogue involvement, leadership, and love of Judaism.
This year’s Congregant of the Year is Marlene Rubin. She will be honored at our annual Congregant of the Year Luncheon on April 26.
About Marlene
Marlene Rubin, the daughter of Raye and Bill Plotkin, has called our synagogue home since the age of seven — becoming a Bat Mitzvah, confirmand, and bride at Congregation Emanu El. She was a teaching assistant at Helfman Religious School during high school and after college, in 1974, returned as a Hebrew/Sunday School teacher. She taught for many years, including a stint as the Hebrew Through Movement Teacher, and continues to serve as a substitute teacher. Over the years she has served on the congregation board, co-chaired the pizza booth at the Purim Carnival, served as a co-chair for the EE Votes initiative, and has become a dedicated presence in the Volunteer Choir, Sisterhood, Kids’ Meals, and Gathering Place.
Professionally, Marlene was a math teacher and then a high school counselor, serving her last 20 years before retirement at Westbury, then Bellaire High School. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics/Hebrew and secondary teaching certification at the University of Texas at Austin and an M.Ed. and state certification in Counseling from Houston Baptist University. She was co-president of the Houston Counseling Association and president of Houston Hillel, serving on each board for many years. She currently volunteers with the West University Good Neighbor Team, Faithful Paws with her dog, Izzy, and sits on the board of West University Democrats. When available, she clerks for elections.
When she lost her beloved Bob, husband of 41 years, to brain cancer in 2015, she channeled her grief into purpose. Together with her then 4-year-old grandson, Will, she wrote and published a book on Amazon for “littles” about death and dying from Will’s perspective titled “Will and Bobbo” so that he and others would remember Bob. Later, she co-founded the Widow2Widow outreach program to support others navigating loss. She regularly supports the Marnie Rose Foundation for Brain Cancer Research.
Marlene and her husband, Bob (z”l), proudly raised four outstanding children together. Shari (Dennis), Mindy (Nick), Jack (Perla), and Paul (Jenn) live in four different time zones, all in the United States, and collectively have six incredible grandchildren, four dogs, two cats, two bearded dragon lizards, a snake, and a fish. Consequently, Marlene visits her children and grandchildren regularly. Any time she is with any of them, she is in her happy place! In addition, Marlene was lucky enough to find love again with Ron Kronberg and added two outstanding bonus children, Erin (Bradley) and two incredible bonus grandchildren. Marlene & Ron enjoy shows of all kinds and travel together.
