Obituary for Maretta Lenore Swartz (Stacel)
She was born erev Pesach on 4/4/28 (= 18). My dad's Hebrew name was Pesach. Pesach occurred in the Hebrew year 2448 (= 18). My dad found a lot of mystical significance in this.
Though not a trained singer, she had a lovely singing voice. She loved swing music, and Frank Sinatra.
She loved to dance, and took modern dance in high school. In her late 50s, she took up tap, ballet and jazz and joined a senior dance group. They performed at nursing homes and for charitable functions. She also did some community theater in the chorus of several musicals. She continued dancing into her early 80s.
She was a homemaker and volunteer and was very civic minded. She volunteered her entire adult life for the PTA (parent-teacher association), Hadassah, ORT, her synagogue, and later in life she volunteered in the local elementary school helping students with reading. Even in the last year of her life, I would take her shopping so she could collect items to donate to the homeless.
She and my father enjoyed travelling. When we were kids, they would take us on "road trips" all over the western United States. After my sister and I left home, they liked to take cruises and visited Mexico, the Caribbean, the California coast, Alaska and cruised through the Panama canal.
She and my father also enjoyed eating out and they had a number of favorite restaurants that they made the rounds of. After my father passed away and my mom was living in a succession of independent and assisted living facilities, her favorite thing to do when I came to visit was to go out to eat.
She was very social, had a lot of friends and kept in contact with people until the last few weeks of her life.
She was definitely a person with a lot of joie de vivre.
She was also very stubborn, tenacious, and didn't know the meaning of the word "quit", all which helped her overcome several serious health challenges in her late 80s and early 90s.
She will be missed by all her daughters, family and friends.
"May her soul be bound in the bond of eternal life"
Though not a trained singer, she had a lovely singing voice. She loved swing music, and Frank Sinatra.
She loved to dance, and took modern dance in high school. In her late 50s, she took up tap, ballet and jazz and joined a senior dance group. They performed at nursing homes and for charitable functions. She also did some community theater in the chorus of several musicals. She continued dancing into her early 80s.
She was a homemaker and volunteer and was very civic minded. She volunteered her entire adult life for the PTA (parent-teacher association), Hadassah, ORT, her synagogue, and later in life she volunteered in the local elementary school helping students with reading. Even in the last year of her life, I would take her shopping so she could collect items to donate to the homeless.
She and my father enjoyed travelling. When we were kids, they would take us on "road trips" all over the western United States. After my sister and I left home, they liked to take cruises and visited Mexico, the Caribbean, the California coast, Alaska and cruised through the Panama canal.
She and my father also enjoyed eating out and they had a number of favorite restaurants that they made the rounds of. After my father passed away and my mom was living in a succession of independent and assisted living facilities, her favorite thing to do when I came to visit was to go out to eat.
She was very social, had a lot of friends and kept in contact with people until the last few weeks of her life.
She was definitely a person with a lot of joie de vivre.
She was also very stubborn, tenacious, and didn't know the meaning of the word "quit", all which helped her overcome several serious health challenges in her late 80s and early 90s.
She will be missed by all her daughters, family and friends.
"May her soul be bound in the bond of eternal life"