Obituary for Edith Edna Schwartz (Lippa)
Funeral Eulogy for Edith Edna Schwartz
(Hebrew name: Ita Chanah bas Mordechai)
Home of Peace Cemetery, San Diego, California
July 25, 2021
Edith Edna Schwartz was born on September 9, 1925, in Winthrop, Massachusetts, a small seaside community across the harbor from Boston. She was the youngest of four children and the only girl. Her oldest brother was Arthur, 13 years her senior, then Edward, followed by Sherman, her twin, who always was quick to claim being older by three minutes.
Edith was a very studious student who excelled in school, usually making honor roll and straight A’s. She also would tell you that she worked very hard for those A’s, unlike Sherman, who never seemed to need to study.
Her parents had a difficult life and they immigrated from Eastern Europe. Her father, Max, was a fabric cutter for a men’s clothing factory, and her mother, Becky, ran the house.
Edith loved to spend time hanging out with friends at the beach, down the street from where she lived. She also fondly remembered spending time with her best friend Eleanor in their attic, listening to records on a wind-up phonograph and dancing. Edith and Eleanor stayed friends their entire lives.
In 1943, Edith was a senior in high school and took a civil-service test and passed. She got a temporary clerical job at Fort Banks during WWII. In 1944, she enrolled at the Boston Dispensary to become a lab technician. That was an 18-month course she paid for herself.
During the entrance interview she recalled being told that she would be doing “enough urine tests to float ten battleships.” Once, when it was her turn to draw blood for the first time, Edith hid, but eventually went on to become proficient. After graduating the
Boston Dispensary, she became an assistant lab tech at Whidden Hospital. Two weeks later the head lab tech left and Edith was promoted to that position, which she was not prepared for.
Soon after, Edith was introduced to George Schwartz, who was dating a friend of hers. George went into the army for two years during WWII and corresponded with Edith the entire time, usually writing three letters a week.
In 1945, George returned and they married on June 7, 1947, in Winthrop. Edith remembered over 150 wedding guests showed up, and some were not invited. The caterer ran out of food, but everyone still had a good time. For their honeymoon, George and Edith drove to Montreal, Quebec, in a 1938 Oldsmobile.
George and Edith were married for 66 years, raised Jay and Steven in the Boston area, and moved to San Diego around 1974. They traveled to Europe, Israel, Canada, and all over the USA. They always found time to locate a square dance group along the way. Edith also was an avid folk dancer, even though George did not share her enthusiasm for folk dancing. She sometimes folk danced three times per week.
Edith has two grandchildren, Avi and Jenna. Jenna recently came to San Diego to spend a week helping take care of her grandmother and Avi was able to videochat with her.
Edith never was interested in moving into assisted living. We are all grateful she got her wish and was able to stay at home until the end. This was made possible because Jay was her caregiver for many years.
Edith was a lifelong member of the Jewish nonprofit organizations Hadassah and ORT. She also gave freely of her time and donated to many other charities, along with volunteer ushering at the San Diego Rep theater.
Edith was a lifelong reader, liked the author James Patterson, and was current on world events. She read the daily newspaper from cover-to-cover. She also had a lot of empathy and deeply felt the troubles of the world.
If you wanted to get a smile, you just had to ask if she had any dark chocolate!
She enjoyed making mock liver, wagon-wheels cheese, and datenut bread, which she always would bring to her long-time friend Sandy, who cut her hair for over 30 years.
Edith also loved to watch The Waltons and Love Boat on television.
And she loved animals, watching different television documentaries on animals.
When I took her for walks, she always stopped to admire and look at dogs being walked.
As a mother and wonderful human being, Edith will be forever missed and always loved and remembered...
(Hebrew name: Ita Chanah bas Mordechai)
Home of Peace Cemetery, San Diego, California
July 25, 2021
Edith Edna Schwartz was born on September 9, 1925, in Winthrop, Massachusetts, a small seaside community across the harbor from Boston. She was the youngest of four children and the only girl. Her oldest brother was Arthur, 13 years her senior, then Edward, followed by Sherman, her twin, who always was quick to claim being older by three minutes.
Edith was a very studious student who excelled in school, usually making honor roll and straight A’s. She also would tell you that she worked very hard for those A’s, unlike Sherman, who never seemed to need to study.
Her parents had a difficult life and they immigrated from Eastern Europe. Her father, Max, was a fabric cutter for a men’s clothing factory, and her mother, Becky, ran the house.
Edith loved to spend time hanging out with friends at the beach, down the street from where she lived. She also fondly remembered spending time with her best friend Eleanor in their attic, listening to records on a wind-up phonograph and dancing. Edith and Eleanor stayed friends their entire lives.
In 1943, Edith was a senior in high school and took a civil-service test and passed. She got a temporary clerical job at Fort Banks during WWII. In 1944, she enrolled at the Boston Dispensary to become a lab technician. That was an 18-month course she paid for herself.
During the entrance interview she recalled being told that she would be doing “enough urine tests to float ten battleships.” Once, when it was her turn to draw blood for the first time, Edith hid, but eventually went on to become proficient. After graduating the
Boston Dispensary, she became an assistant lab tech at Whidden Hospital. Two weeks later the head lab tech left and Edith was promoted to that position, which she was not prepared for.
Soon after, Edith was introduced to George Schwartz, who was dating a friend of hers. George went into the army for two years during WWII and corresponded with Edith the entire time, usually writing three letters a week.
In 1945, George returned and they married on June 7, 1947, in Winthrop. Edith remembered over 150 wedding guests showed up, and some were not invited. The caterer ran out of food, but everyone still had a good time. For their honeymoon, George and Edith drove to Montreal, Quebec, in a 1938 Oldsmobile.
George and Edith were married for 66 years, raised Jay and Steven in the Boston area, and moved to San Diego around 1974. They traveled to Europe, Israel, Canada, and all over the USA. They always found time to locate a square dance group along the way. Edith also was an avid folk dancer, even though George did not share her enthusiasm for folk dancing. She sometimes folk danced three times per week.
Edith has two grandchildren, Avi and Jenna. Jenna recently came to San Diego to spend a week helping take care of her grandmother and Avi was able to videochat with her.
Edith never was interested in moving into assisted living. We are all grateful she got her wish and was able to stay at home until the end. This was made possible because Jay was her caregiver for many years.
Edith was a lifelong member of the Jewish nonprofit organizations Hadassah and ORT. She also gave freely of her time and donated to many other charities, along with volunteer ushering at the San Diego Rep theater.
Edith was a lifelong reader, liked the author James Patterson, and was current on world events. She read the daily newspaper from cover-to-cover. She also had a lot of empathy and deeply felt the troubles of the world.
If you wanted to get a smile, you just had to ask if she had any dark chocolate!
She enjoyed making mock liver, wagon-wheels cheese, and datenut bread, which she always would bring to her long-time friend Sandy, who cut her hair for over 30 years.
Edith also loved to watch The Waltons and Love Boat on television.
And she loved animals, watching different television documentaries on animals.
When I took her for walks, she always stopped to admire and look at dogs being walked.
As a mother and wonderful human being, Edith will be forever missed and always loved and remembered...