Happy Birthday, Mom – A Tribute

Today Mom would have celebrated her 91^st birthday, so I thought I’d share a few facts, stories, and photos to commemorate the occasion.

Florence Gold was born January 23, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, to Tillie Siegel and Morris Gold. She was the youngest of 5 children. She was very close to all of her siblings, but had a special bond with Harold who was closest in age to her (after Rose died in 1958). Rose was born in 1922, Harold in 1921, Rae in 1918 and Sid in 1916. So Mom was truly the baby in the family.

Florence with brother Harold, c 1944

Mom often reminisced about her adventures with her good friend Elaine. Elaine’s family was wealthy and they employed a maid who would take Elaine and Mom to the movies and elsewhere. Unfortunately, Mom started smoking cigarettes when she was 15. Her siblings were not happy about it, but they helped hide her smoking from their parents.

Florence (front) with friend, c 1940

Mom’s family moved around a lot, but stayed in the same general area of Brooklyn. When she was a teenager, they ultimately moved to an apartment building on the corner of Ocean Parkway and Ditmas Ave. This is where she met Dad (Sidney Schwartz) who was living in the same building with his family. Mom graduated from Prospect Heights High School in January 1949 and she and Dad became engaged a few months later and got married in 1951.

Florence, high school, 1949

In the mid-1950s, Mom, Dad, and my oldest brother Matt moved to Silver Spring, MD. Mom’s sister Rose and brother Harold were living there at the time. Their mother Tillie lived there for awhile, as well. My brother Jeff was born, the family moved to Rockville, then I was born. Mom became close, life-long friends with our neighbor, Eleanor (Ellie) Munson. 

Florence with Ellie, c 1980

For many years, Mom worked as the bookkeeper at John Ligon, a window and floor coverings store in Bethesda. She enjoyed the work and friendships with her coworkers. Before her job at John Ligon, she had a few other part-time jobs – one was selling Amway products. For awhile, she was involved with the Jewish War Veterans Ladies Auxiliary.

Mom had many hobbies. She crocheted, knitted, danced in Jacki Sorensen aerobics classes, and played bridge and tennis. But best of all, Mom loved to read. She read the descriptions of new books that were in the Washington Post each week and put a hold on the ones that sounded good from the Aspen Hill public library. At times, she belonged to the Book of the Month Club.

Mom loved babies, especially her grandchildren! She loved holding, talking and reading to, and playing with them and making them laugh. They were her greatest joy. Happy birthday to an amazing mother and grandmother – kind, funny, caring, dedicated, and supportive, and loving.

Florence with 1st grandchild Kacey, 1984