Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Barbara Cushman Waxler |
| Birth name | Barbara Cushman Molinsky |
| Approximate birth year | 1930 or 1931 |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York |
| Parents | Meyer C. Molinsky and Beatrice Molinsky |
| Sibling | Joan Rivers (born Joan Molinsky) |
| Spouse | Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler (married June 1965; deceased 1977) |
| Children | Andrew Reed Waxler; Caroline Waxler Levitt |
| Grandchildren | Eric Waxler; Abigail Waxler; Emily Waxler |
| Education | B.A. in Economics, Connecticut College for Women; LL.B., Columbia University Law School |
| Profession | Attorney; community volunteer |
| Places of residence | New York; Waycross, Georgia; Ardmore and the Main Line, Pennsylvania |
| Date of death | June 3, 2013 |
| Noted honors | Phi Beta Kappa at Connecticut College; early graduate of Columbia Law |
Early life and family origins
Barbara Cushman Waxler was born Barbara Cushman Molinsky in Brooklyn amid the small dramas and large hopes of a 1930s New York family. She grew up the daughter of Meyer C. Molinsky, a physician, and Beatrice Molinsky, in a household where ambition and resilience were practical virtues. The Molinsky household produced two particularly public figures, one who reached stardom in comedy and television, and another who pursued law and community service with quiet determination. The family dynamic reads like a two-voice duet, each sibling singing in a different register.
Education and early career
Barbara left Brooklyn for Connecticut to study economics at Connecticut College for Women, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa for scholastic distinction. She then moved to New York City and enrolled at Columbia University Law School, earning an LL.B. as one of the younger members of her graduating class. Her path was not linear in the sense of a single track; she explored law, and for a period accounts note time spent in medical study, though her professional identity became anchored in law.
Her legal credentials allowed her to practice in New York and later in Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and later admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, practicing in Montgomery County and Delaware County, where the Main Line frames daily life with stately trees and commuter trains.
Marriage, children and family life
In June 1965, Barbara wed Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler, a cardiologist whose work momentarily brought them to Waycross, Georgia. Andrew Reed Waxler and Caroline Waxler Levitt were the couple’s two children. When Dr. Waxler passed away in 1977, the family’s lives took a dramatic turn for the worse, leaving Barbara as a widow who had to raise two children and advance in both her career and her community.
The family line was continued by her offspring. In public records, Andrew Reed Waxler is listed as Dr. Andrew Reed Waxler; he is a husband and parent who studied medicine and academia. The daughter, Caroline Waxler Levitt, took a married name and continued to be associated with the family in the Pennsylvania area. Barbara’s role as a mother was stable and pragmatic; she juggled her professional commitments with being a mother and, later, volunteering at civic and educational institutions.
Legal career and community involvement
Barbara’s legal career is best described as steady rather than celebrity. She practiced law across state lines, from New York to Pennsylvania, and applied her legal mind to community concerns on the Main Line. Her resume highlights a B.A. in economics and an LL.B. from Columbia, two credentials that framed her professional life for more than three decades. She volunteered with local institutions and invested time in educational causes, including engagement with the Episcopal Academy and similar organizations where parental presence and governance matter.
Relationship with Joan Rivers
In the family narrative, the name Joan Rivers seems to be a focal point. Barbara’s younger sister, Joan Molinsky, was a comedian and television personality. Their bond encompassed both public awareness and common family ties. Joan Rivers formally acknowledged Barbara’s passing on June 3, 2013, marking the intersection of her public image and private bereavement. In the Molinsky family, the two sisters selected different maps but had a common background. Sisters can be both mirrors and maps.
Extended family profiles
| Family member | Role and portrait |
|---|---|
| Meyer C. Molinsky | Father; a physician whose career and household provided a medical and intellectual backdrop for his children. He represents the professional horizon of the family in the early 20th century. |
| Beatrice Molinsky | Mother; the domestic and emotional center who raised children who would pursue public and professional lives. Her name recurs in family records as the steady presence behind the scenes. |
| Joan Rivers (Joan Molinsky) | Younger sister; a nationally known comedian and television host who brought notoriety to the family name and later publicly noted her sister’s passing. The contrast between Joan’s stage life and Barbara’s professional discretion creates a striking family tableau. |
| Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler | Spouse; cardiologist, married to Barbara in June 1965 and deceased in 1977. His career briefly relocated the family and his early death reshaped Barbara’s responsibilities. |
| Andrew Reed Waxler | Son; identified as Dr. Andrew Reed Waxler in public obituaries, a medical professional and family man with a spouse and children. He represents continuity in professional service. |
| Caroline Waxler Levitt | Daughter; carries the family line into a married household and local civic life, named among survivors and active in family remembrance. |
| Eric, Abigail, Emily Waxler | Grandchildren; the next generation in a lineage that spans medicine, law, and entertainment. Their presence is repeated in family notices and memorials. |
Timeline of key dates and milestones
| Year or Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 1930 or 1931 | Birth of Barbara Cushman Molinsky in Brooklyn, New York |
| 1950s | B.A. in Economics from Connecticut College for Women; Phi Beta Kappa |
| Mid 1950s | LL.B. from Columbia University Law School |
| June 1965 | Marriage to Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler |
| 1977 | Death of Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler |
| 1980s to 2000s | Professional practice in Pennsylvania; volunteer work on the Main Line |
| June 3, 2013 | Death of Barbara Cushman Waxler |
The timeline is a simple spine upon which decades of ordinary decisions, legal work, parenting and local service rest.
Achievements and public recognition
Barbara’s achievements are concrete and compact. She earned Phi Beta Kappa honors, a B.A. in economics, and a law degree from Columbia. She was admitted to two bars and practiced law in two states. Her accomplishments read less like trophies on a mantle and more like a ledger of sustained competence: education, professional admission, practice, and persistent civic engagement.
Financial profile
No public net worth figures or financial portfolios are part of the family record. The public narrative focuses on education, profession and family. Financial life in this context is private and unquantified in the public record, leaving room for inference but not for precise enumeration.
Recent mentions and public memory
Public references to Barbara cluster around obituaries and memorials from 2013 and the expressions of family members who remembered her at that time. Her death was noted in family announcements and acknowledged by her sister Joan Rivers. Since then Barbara appears in genealogical records and family memorial pages rather than ongoing news cycles. Memory stores itself in the small memorials that friends and family maintain.
Personal character and portrait in small details
Barbara appears in recollection as disciplined, deliberate and civic minded. She was both a product of the fast twentieth century and a contributor to the slow institutions that outlast a single life. She read law, argued cases, raised children and volunteered in ways that keep communities functioning. If Joan Rivers carried a microphone into the national arena, Barbara carried a briefcase into courthouses and meeting rooms, and in both cases the family name traveled beyond its Brooklyn origin.
FAQ
Who was Barbara Cushman Waxler?
Barbara Cushman Waxler was an attorney, volunteer and mother born as Barbara Cushman Molinsky around 1930 or 1931 who practiced law in New York and Pennsylvania and lived on the Main Line.
When was she born and when did she die?
She was born circa 1930 or 1931 and died on June 3, 2013.
Who were her immediate family members?
Her parents were Meyer C. Molinsky and Beatrice Molinsky; her sister was Joan Rivers; her spouse was Dr. Edward Bernard Waxler; her children are Andrew Reed Waxler and Caroline Waxler Levitt.
What did she study and where?
She studied economics at Connecticut College for Women and earned an LL.B. at Columbia University Law School.
Was she related to Joan Rivers?
Yes, Joan Rivers, born Joan Molinsky, was Barbara’s younger sister.
What were her main professional achievements?
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, earned an LL.B. from Columbia, and practiced law in both New York and Pennsylvania while engaging in local volunteer work.
