Beatrice Gitmed was born February 16, 1920, at Baltimore, Maryland. She breathed her last on March 30, 2014, Vero Beach, Florida.
That Sunday evening, in the presence of her only child, Carroll Janssen, and her son-in-law, Roger "Wayne" Rutland, her sparkling green eyes closed on 94 years of life. She had been felled in just four days by an unexpected enemy--Guillian-Barre Syndrome.
She enjoyed her long life and loved her independence. The widow of Russell H. Aldrich, for nearly 30 years, she never accepted offers from anyone who suggested she needed live-in help. She did, however, very much appreciate the daily assistance of several especially dear CNA aides.
On the very day she went to the Emergency Room she was still happily living in her own sunny apartment at Gardenia Gardens in Vero Beach. Anyone who drove up to her building instantly knew which unit was hers. The lacy curtains that were her trademark festooned her windows. Inside she surrounded herself with flowers and floral prints in pink, pink, and more pink. The only exception to that theme was her eclectic collection of souvenirs from around the world, reminders of those two exciting trips she made one by plane, the other by ship. The effect of all that made for a pleasant place friends liked to visit.
Bea was one of the "Greatest Generation". Her strength and commitment to goals was amazing. Just ten days after the Pearl Harbor was attacked, when the United States entered World War II, she gave birth to her only child, Carroll Anne. She, and her husband, Jerry Janssen, and their little girl lived on the Wrigley Ranch at the rugged isthmus of Catalina Island during the war years. It was not easy--their closest neighbor was a Prisoners of War camp, and the occasional sailor anchored in the harbor. They struggled for their living. Jerry fished, bringing his catch to the "mainland" (California's coast) to sell; and took care of the island's wildlife. With neither car nor fuel to spare, they often rode horses to get around. Even with all those hardships Bea recently described those years as "the happiest of my life".
After the war, and back on the mainland at last, she and Jerry divorced. Beatrice was now a single mother, at a time when that was viewed as quite scandaloussomething no good woman would be. More than once her daughter watched her choke back tears at being excluded by "nice" women she wanted to be friends with.
Excluded from good company, and with few employable skills, she went to work in whatever factories were still employing women. (Most weren't, as they chose to rehire returning war veterans.) She did any kind of honest work she could get. Making fish hooks for 75 cents an hour; working on the production line at Ball Brothers glass another time. She was even an elevator operator for a while (till they could trust you to push your own button), and waited tables for tips whenever she could. Her gorgeous good looks; slim figure, sparkling green eyes, and shiny black hair made her a hit at fashion modeling jobs but those were often intermittent. The best paying and most reliable jobs she had was cocktail waitressing, but that only added wood to the firestorm of gossip that too often surrounded her.
There were many times in those years when dinner was what she called "Graveyard Stew"dried bread with warm milk with a little sugaror untouched baked potatoes and leftover meat cleared from her customer's plates. (We were both so glad to have them!) Through all of that Bea was her daughter's hero.
Many times Carroll saw her mother's eyes tear up with concernbut only for a moment. There were good reasons to worry. Could she pay the rent, or would we have to move again? Was she going to be able to keep the lights on? When would she ever afford the telephone that might help her get jobs? Beatrice prayed often. Time and time again little Carroll saw those prayers answered that's how she learned to trust that God would always take care of mommy.
Beatrice's Hebrew name was Bracha (it means blessing), but you probably never knew her by that name. After all, within months of her baby's birth the first terrifying reports of the destruction of Jews by the Nazi's were being published in American newspapers. (Those deaths included her own relatives--aunts, uncles and cousins--virtually every family member who had remained in Europe when her family immigrated to the USA.)
She chose, like so many other Jews at that time, to protect herself and her baby by hiding her Jewishness. As part of that plan, she began seeking a Christian religion to belong to. Her dear in-laws, Jack and Jane Janssen, were anointed Bible Students who introduced her to what they called The Truth. Their kindness; coupled with the warm welcome she received at meetings in the Kingdom Hall, plus the fact that they worshiped the God is Abraham with no images, made it easy for her to join in with them. Her trust in their teachings had a profound effect on the rest of her life.
Over the years "passing" as a Gentile, she often bore her feelings with grieved silence ignorant and anti-Semitic remarks made by folks who never dreamed she would care. Actually she cared a lot.
Bracha always had a keen sense of justice and she could really stand strong for what she believed was right. Once, still in her 20s, and with no education to prepare her, she led a group neighbors, mostly struggling single mothers like her, who being unlawfully overcharged in rent-controlled housing, in a law suit that resulted in their landlord having to repay their losses. (Of course, she was evicted soon afterward, but she took great pride in that accomplishment all the days of her life.)
"You're Jewish, but don't tell anyone, they'll think bad things about you" was how she finally told her daughter, by now a teen, about their Jewish ethnicity. Tragically, that was exactly how being a Jew had affected her life. In the 1920s, in California, when she was in grade school in boarding school she was beaten by a group of classmates for "killing Jesus"while adults watched.
When her Bubbie (it means grandmother) an Ayshet Chayil, who's family had lost both home and business in the violence of an anti Jewish Pogrom in Odessa, learned of this, that mighty matriarch, wearing her shpitzel, marched right up to that Church run boarding school and took her granddaughter out with no one daring to stop her. Bracha lived with her grandmother for a long time after that.
In 1958 Beatrice and Carroll went to New York City for the week-long International Convention. On the final day, Bea announced that they would not be returning to California. With one suitcase each, she and her then 16 year old daughter got on the subway at Yankee Stadium and got off in the "Promised Land"--Brooklyn Heights. There, at last, her life bloomed. She found a tiny apartment (available only because it was adjacent to a busy fire station), found more job opportunities, and made several friends from Bethel.
One day, doing field service, she knocked on Russell Aldrich's door. Within the year they were married. He adored and indulged her. At last the struggles were over. For a honeymoon he booked a cruise throughout the Orient. The ship was caught in Typhoon that had everyone sick in their bunks. Beatrice, who never got sea sick was the only guest in the dining room that day. (We often wondered what the chef thought of that when he had to prepare something for her to eat while the vessel was pitching in the sea.)
Whether you knew her as BeBe, the glamorous fashion model; Beatrice a well traveled woman, or Bracha, a bat Zion, you probably knew of her strong belief in the resurrectionthe day our Creator would breathe life into the dead. It meant being raised from sleep in the grave, being "made new" with exuberant LIFE without pain or sorrow. She wanted that--she waited to see it. Now, at last, she will.
Her family is sitting Shiva. Her friends at the Vero Beach Kingdom Hall have made plans for a memorial service to be held Friday April 11, at 7:00 P.M.
If you would like to make a donation in her name, please do so. The family would appreciate your giving a gift of time, energy or food to an elderly person you know. Such gifts delighted Bea more than any other, and it will please her family immensely to know such a kindness has been passed on as a remembrance of her life.
More stories will be posted here as they come to mind. Photos of her life and adventures will be added as they are sorted and copied. Feel free to add your own comments and experiences here.