Alina Heller

Trustee

I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1954.  My mother, Berthe Huberman (her parents had emigrated from Poland to Paris and then to Cuba) was an acclaimed pianist and teacher.  My father, Adolfo Odnoposoff (his parents were from Russia and immigrated to Argentina) was a renowned cellist, professor of music and one of the founders of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra in 1936. They met at a concert in 1944 where my father was the principal cellist with the Havana Symphony Orchestra.  They got married on May 18, 1946. 
 
In 1957, we moved to Mexico City, since my father was not happy with the political situation in Cuba at the time. I do not remember Cuba but I very much liked living in Mexico City which had a very large Jewish community.  I attended the Mexico City School from kindergarten through fourth grade. 
 
In 1965, at the invitation of Pablo Casals, my father accepted a position at the Conservatory of Music in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I finished elementary school there and went to an American high school for grades 8-12.  I spoke very basic English at the time and felt very frustrated not only because all the classes were in English, but all the kids spoke English as well. I spent hours every afternoon with a dictionary translating almost every word in every textbook.  I am glad that I finally learned English because it allowed me to go to college in the United States where I met my wonderful husband Mark. 
 
Mark and I both graduated from Rutgers University. Mark got his dental degree and I got my MBA at the University of North Texas, where my parents were teaching at the time .  We both graduated the summer of 1979 and got married on August 18, 1979.  We worked together for many years once Mark 
established his own practice in Great Neck. We have recently retired. 
 
Mark and I have 3 beautiful daughters and 6 gorgeous grandchildren.  Our girls attended TBI’s religious school and had their Bat Mitzvahs there as well.  They are all happily married and living in Westchester at the present time.  Mark and I feel extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful family and extended family at TBI. 

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