Bertha Weinberg's Obituary
My mom, Bertha Mishkovsky Weinberg was born on February 2, 1928. She and her family lived a modest lifestyle in the small town of Knox, Indiana. Bertha’s father, Israel Mishkovsky owned the town junk yard and he and his wife Libby lived next door, only 25 feet from the rail tracks in a small, old house. That’s how my grandfather preferred to live and his emphasis was on family, work, and education. Bertha had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Of the 5 children, 4 were Valedictorian of their high school class including Bertha a testament to their emphasis on education.
Mom started college at Indiana University but was now dating William Weinberg, who was attending Purdue. They decided to get married and built a house in the county about 6 miles from Rensselaer, Indiana. Dad built a business with his brother Henry across the street selling almost anything he could buy at auctions from clothing to hardware to shoes to building supplies. It was in Rensselaer where they raised the family – Marian, then Jim, and then Sue. Dad ran the business and mom ran the household. She did everything for us including baseball practice, basketball practice, piano lessons, and golf course. The house was always clean and there was a meal prepared every night and my mom was a great cook. We always ate dinner as a family and there were no cell phones – just talk about what went on in everyone’s life. My parents were great parents – just enough supervision and plenty of encouragement. They put us all through college and gave us a great foundation for a successful life. We also had a close family especially with mom’s mother Libby who also lived a very long life. We got together, usually at my aunt Lee’s house for Thanksgiving with all of mom’s siblings and my mom would bring 7 or 8 pies, which was her special gift and the highlight of the Thanksgiving feast. All of mom’s siblings lived into their 90’s and mom’s older sister Lee is still living at 102.
Dad ran the business for about 50 years before retiring. They moved to Florida to be near Marian and Sue and get away from the harsh winters of northern Indiana.
They lived many happy years at Chantilly and Majestic Isles in Boynton Beach until Dad passed away in 2018. Dad had several difficult years but mom kept him at home the entire time with outside help. After dad passed, mom moved to 5 Star
in Plantation where she remained until the present time. She remained alert and aware of everything in spite of her physical difficulties. Special thanks to my sisters Marian and Sue for their time and effort taking mom to Dr appointment and spending quality time with her. Also thanks to her primary caregivers, Katina and Sue for always being there for mom. And we can’t forget Matilda, who thought of Bertha as her adopted mom, spending many nights with mom when she wasn’t feeling well.
Mom led a wonderful life. To those that only knew her in the past few years, they might not realize it but mom was very active. She learned to water ski when we had a boat on Bass lake, she played golf every week at Curtus Creek, and went on golfing vacations with dad and cruises with her siblings. Mostly I will remember her as a warm wonderful mother who would do anything for her family. We will cherish the memories of this beautiful person.
What’s your fondest memory of Bertha?
What’s a lesson you learned from Bertha?
Share a story where Bertha's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Bertha you’ll never forget.
How did Bertha make you smile?
