Estelle Jasnoff-Chunn

Estelle Jasnoff-Chunn, a psychologist from the Philadelphia area who built a clinical career spanning nearly four decades, died on October 5, 2026, at the age of 92. She passed away at Abington Hospital after what her family described as a brief illness. Her death was first reported in a Legacy.com obituary and noted by the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, which headlined her as a "Psychologist and Lifelong Learner."

She was born in 1934 in South Philadelphia, the daughter of Jean and Abraham Benoff, and grew up with a brother, Hank Benoff, who predeceased her. At a time when far fewer women pursued advanced degrees, she went back to school as an adult and earned her PhD in psychology in 1972, a milestone her family and obituary writers have pointed to as evidence of her determination and intellectual curiosity. That degree launched a professional career in psychology that continued for roughly forty years, during which she worked with patients and, by all accounts from those who knew her, kept learning and reading throughout her life.

Friends and family have remembered her as someone who did not fit the expectations placed on women of her generation. She chose to complete her doctorate as an adult and build a vocation that she practiced into her later decades. Those who have posted tributes since her death have focused on her intellect, her warmth, and the example she set for her children and grandchildren about continuing to grow and study no matter one's age.

She is survived by her husband, Tony, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, and by two sons, Zachary Jasnoff of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Jeffrey Jasnoff of Louisville, Kentucky, along with four grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Her family has shared details of her life through a published obituary rather than extensive media coverage, reflecting that she was known primarily within her community and professional circles rather than as a national public figure.

No specific cause of death beyond "a brief illness" has been made public, and no autopsy or further medical detail has been reported. Funeral arrangements were handled by Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Funeral Directors Suburban North in Southampton, Pennsylvania, near where she had lived in Huntingdon Valley.