Goldie Klempner's Obituary
With great sadness and heartfelt thanks for the life of our beautiful mother Goldie Klempner, we bid her adieu.
Goldie was the rock of our family - a woman of great character, resilience, kindness, and humanity. No one can replace her and she will live on in the hearts of her students and all those she touched in her advocacy and charitable works. She leaves behind her daughter, Diane “Deedee” and husband Eckart Russell; son Dr. Mark Klempner and wife Ellie Svenson; daughter Ellen and husband Victor Beguin, grandchildren Sam, Jesse, Hannah, Lily, Benno, Leah, Alex, and Nyiko, and great-grandchildren Katherine, Leah, Ben, Alma, Mona, Christian and Sierra.
She also leaves behind her brother Dr. S. David Rockoff and sister Roz Zimmerman, their families, and the family of her sister-in-law, Marilyn, and her late brother, Irwin.
Her children would like to thank Mrs. Jean Webley and her other caregivers for their superb care for our mother and Rabbi Moshe Wolvovsky for his beautiful stories that gave Mom such solace.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Ben and her late in life love Sam Etlin. We thank her long-deceased mother Sarah Rattinger and father Sam Rockoff who gave us the blessing of our wonderful Goldbug.
Goldie’s journey was a profoundly American tale. Born to a Russian Jewish immigrant father and a Mom raised in the Lower East Side; Goldie’s family settled in Utica, New York. With her siblings pitching in to finance her education, Goldie went off to Ryder College in Trenton, New Jersey, meeting Ben there. During the War years they traveled to Texas, Alabama and California. Finally, Goldie spent most of her adult life in the glorious sunny post WWII days in Miami Beach, Florida. With gusto, she pursued the American dream of a house, a family, college for her three children and a splendid table of Duncan Heinz, Betty Crocker and Campbell Soup.
Goldie was a profoundly modern woman. Further education( a masters degree at Barry College),full time work, first as a teacher at Nautilus Junior High and later teaching in adult education. She skillfully balanced family, work, cherished friends, and Saturday nights out with Ben.
Goldie never tired of doing good. Red Cross and Guardian ad Litem were her civic passions. And speaking of those, so was bridge and any sort of card game. Goldie was kind, Goldie was good, Goldie was a beautiful blue eyed, beautifully dressed gal with sterling- rather golden values. Goldie Klempner was our amazing golden girl.
Donations in memory of Goldie should be made to Speak Up for Kids, the non-profit 501c3 corporation that supports the Guardian Ad Litum program. www.speakupforkidspbc.org
P.O. Box 1896
West Palm Beach, FL 33402
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