Beloved mother, sister, and friend, Cindi Gilbert, passed away on Friday, March 6, 2020, just a few weeks shy of her 66th birthday. Her fun and playful spirit now lives with us in the form of pure love.

Born in the Bronx on March 27, 1954, to parents Ida Kachman and Louis Rudman, Cindi spent her childhood in New York City and Newtown, Connecticut.

Cindi’s spunky personality was evident from day one. A bright, playful girl, she had many friends and was featured in the local paper for her chess-playing prowess.

Cindi was a free spirit who carved her own path. In search of adventure and inspired by her Jewish faith, she lived and worked on a Kibbutz in Israel in the early ’70s, a chapter she has always cherished. Strong-willed and rebellious, she ran away in high school to marry her first love, former husband, Chuck Wittman, with whom she had two daughters, Jennifer and Allison.

With the births of both her daughters, Cindi insisted on natural childbirth where the concept was nothing short of radical in the late ’70s. Within hours of delivering her second child, doctors recognized her ease with feeding her daughter and asked her to teach the other new mothers in the birthing ward how to nurse their own newborns.

In 1977, the young family moved to Indiana where Cindi — a natural-born feminist — became one of the first female electricians in the state. She was integral to countless major construction projects and worked on every major building in downtown Indianapolis as it grew upward and outward in the ’70s, and ’80s.

But the high rises she helped build are dwarfed by the colossal exuberance she showered on her daughters as they grew up. She was their Girl Scout Leader, the mom always on the scene, the proud parent behind the video camera — because everything her girls did mattered to her. She carried that spirit into her grand-mothering as well, where she’ll always be remembered for playing joyously and baking with her little angels; trying to make every moment count.

Cindi was an avid knitter and Mahjong player. She loved playful competition and laughing with her friends. She also loved being active and trying new things. Her favorite places to be were the beaches around Sarasota, Florida.

You could often find Cindi exploring shops, attending covered bridge and art festivals, and spending time with her friends. She was known for lifting people’s spirits when they were down...never letting friends, family members, or co-workers give up on themselves or their dreams. She always made people feel cherished, appreciated, and loved.

Cindi is survived by her daughters, Jennifer and Allison Wittman; sons-in-law, Doug Sanders and Aaron Levensailor; grandchildren, Bodhi Sanders, Addie Levensailor, and Aidan Levensailor; sister, Janice Rudman; former husband, Chuck Wittman; stepson, Geoff Gilbert, and his wife, Emily, and daughter, Alex.

A memorial service will be held in Fair Lawn, N.J., at Louis Suburban Chapel at 11 am on Friday, March 13, at 13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West) Fair Lawn, NJ 07410; louissuburbanchapel.com.

Burial will follow the service at Riverside Cemetery 12 Market Street, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663; riversidecemetery.org.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana at gleaners.org.