Cecelia (Teedy) Appelbaum, 97, died on Friday, December 20 at home in San Diego. Teedy was born on June 26, 1922 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where she lived until she entered Stephens College in Columbia Missouri in 1938. She met Irving Appelbaum, the love of her life, in 1940 and they eloped in October, 1942 when he finished basic training in the Denver area. She taught school in California during the war and she and Irving returned to his hometown, Decatur, Illinois, in 1946 where they operated a very successful business until they retired in 1988 and moved to La Jolla. An energetic philanthropist, community worker and lover of Israel, Teedy was active in numerous Jewish and civic organizations in Decatur and San Diego. She believed that you had to give back to your community.
Predeceased by her husband in 2005, she is survived by her two daughters Ann Appelbaum (Rabbi Neal Borovitz), Marcia Caulkins, her 4 grandchildren, Cara Caulkins, Abby (Michael) Friedman, Jeremy Borovitz (Rebecca Blady), Kelsey (Ryan) Newberry, 3 great grandchildren (Spencer and Mia Friedman and Hindi Borovitz ) and scores of nephews, nieces and cousins.
Funeral arrangements are by Am Israel Mortuary. Services will be held graveside at El Camino Memorial Chapel, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road on Monday, December 23 at 3:00 pm. Shiva will be private.
The family requests that donations in Teedy's memory be made to the Leo Baeck Educational Center in Haifa, Israel where the funds will be used to support the synagogue that she and Irving built: http://leobaeckhaifa.org/cecelia/


In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to: http://leobaeckhaifa.org/cecelia/