Susan Kantor
Mom wasn’t an easy woman BUT she was one of the most loving, passionate, loyal people there was.
Smart, ambitious, fearless.
A fiercely independent, confident, opinionated woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She is a Goldberg after all… (and my family understands what that means)!
Mom was a woman who deeply loves her family and would do anything for them.
She had great taste, style and as many shoes as Imelda Marcos! So many people from our childhood commented their memory of her being wise, beautiful, graceful and “hot” as she always dressed sexy.
Sometimes a little too sexy for her more conservative daughter!
She loved fancy cars and drove them fast. No surprise there. We used to travel from New York to Florida for vacations and she had a CB in her car. Her handle was SPEED QUEEN.
Breaker, breaker 1.9 I hear in my head. She used to play chicken with the on-coming cars to pass a slow-moving vehicle. Scared the shit out of Steven and me. Speed was important. As in her life she never wasted a moment.
My mom didn’t have an easy life. Truth be told, her brave, courageous, independent persona masked her disappointments.
As Marlene told it, she had to survive a difficult childhood (growing up with immigrant parents during the depression, a brother 13 years her elder that went off to war as a paratrooper, and an older sister who resented taking care of her baby sister. She then had to overcome the emotions of a failed marriage and figure out how to survive in a man’s world.
She was a hard -working woman, who worked tirelessly to give her children everything she never had, even if we couldn’t afford it. She made me choose between sleep away camp and a Sweet 16 party, I chose camp. I got the party anyway.
When I needed a car after college graduation, she bought me one,
but as a loan.
It was mom’s lessons to not be spoiled and appreciate. I am very grateful for everything she gave us, and gave up for us. Thanks to her we have straight teeth, lifelong camp memories and friends, our college education paid for and we learned the true meaning of sacrifice for your loved ones.
She was an amazing laundress who taught us how to do laundry, fold properly and iron better than any dry cleaner. The funniest thing is we could never leave the house until our room was clean and our bed was made perfectly. Hospital corners and all.
To this day Steven and I cannot start our day until this is done. You will never find an unmade bed in our houses!
She was an amazing role model who taught us manners, morals, responsibility, Jewish tradition, a little Yiddish – she loved and was always surprised when I would throw in a phrase of two. Oh, gutunyu! , She also taught me independence, how not to follow the crowd, how to be our own person and above all, value family. Family was everything to her.
Mom set the bar high. Great expectations.
And, It wasn’t always easy to live up to them.
I moved down here during COVID. It was my time to give back and take care of her.
Never in a million years did I think I’d move back to Florida. Six years later, here I am, enjoying the South Florida life but more importantly I am so very grateful I had the opportunity to spend real, quality time. We bonded in ways I could never have imagined. And until the very end, I continued to learn from this incredibly strong, wise, resilient woman I’m so proud to call “mom.”-
She was truly a force of nature.
She wasn’t always easy, but she was one of the most loving passionate and loyal people I’ve ever known. A true Scorpio.
A unique combination of strength and compassion.
She was honest in her opinions – sometimes bracingly so. The kind of honesty that could put me in a deep funk for days…
Most of the time she was right. I just wasn’t ready to hear it. But I always knew, it was coming from a place of love.
Behind the tough exterior, was a heart of gold. She was soft, deeply loving and a hopeless romantic that had a passion for Turkish dramas, Outlander, old black and white movies and Neil Diamond. We used to sing Sweet Caroline in the car at the top of our lungs. We also said many “I love you’s.”
Like the month of March – she came in like a lion and went out like a lamb.
I will always cherish these last few years. They were a true gift.
She shared childhood memories, family history and hard-won perspective.
There’s one recent conversation I’ll carry with me forever!
Mom said, "I love you, Susan. You've more than made up for the lost time. I'm so glad we have this time together. Will you miss me?"
I said, "Where are you going, Momma?"
"I don't know," she said. "I've never been there before."
I said, "Will you send me a postcard so I know you're okay?"
She said, "I'll pinch your tush."
"So every time I feel a pinch, I'll know it's you?"
"Yes," she said. "I will always look out for you."
Mom — I'll look forward to those pinches.