Obituary of Eileen Gertz

Eileen Ruth Gertz. October 5, 1931- April 26, 2020. AKA: Crazy Aunt Ruthy, Natasha, Mainland Pest, the Last Deutsch Standing Eileen died on Sunday, April 26th of COVID-19, in Denver, Colorado. Fifteen years earlier, on the very same day, during a late spring blizzard, Boris, her husband of 53 years, passed away. Eileen is preceded in death by her parents, David and Mollie Deutsch, and her siblings Arthur, Louis, Elsie, Esther, and Dinah. She is loved, survived, and dearly missed by children Michael (Martha), and Jeri (Jim), granddaughters Ruthie, Sarah, and Lilinoe, along with many adoring nieces and nephews. Eileen grew up in New Jersey and Florida, and was a high academic achiever, graduating summa cum laude from Palm Beach Junior College, and Florida State University. She also earned Masters degrees in Education, from Northeastern University, and Denver University. She met future husband Boris at a Hillel function while at Florida State University. Every year for his birthday, Eileen baked him a special “Boris cake”, which featured 2 inches of cake, and 4 inches of vanilla frosting. Eileen became a devoted Special Education teacher, and received thank you notes from former students decades after they were in her classes. She also taught typing, and did private tutoring. She was a talented scenic artist and program designer, for local opera and community theater groups in South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Colorado. Her home was filled with a jungle full of plants, brightened with hundreds of candles, copper pots, cupboards overflowing with gag gifts, walls of family photos, and her own charcoal art pictures. If you look in the Yiddish dictionary under the word ongepotchke , you will see a photo of Eileen . Throughout life, Eileen volunteered; for hospitals, Temple sisterhoods, high school drama programs, and Alzheimer’s day care centers. Eileen enjoyed long walks in the neighborhood, on sandy beaches, and from the parking lot to the mall. She joyfully baked gorgeous, memorable desserts, never threw away a piece of wrapping paper. She wore Je Reviens perfume that sat on her dresser in a glass bottle, and carried on a lifelong love affair with gigantic hats, earrings, and large, colorful sunglasses. Donations to Alzheimer’s Society - Alz.org gratefully accepted A private service will be held, Wednesday, 11:45am. A public livestream of the funeral will be available on the platform called: Periscope If you wish to view the funeral: 1. From a desktop computer or any internet browser, go to Periscope or www.pscp.tv <http://www.pscp.tv> a. In the upper left-hand corner of the webpage, there is a search bar where you will type: DECEASED’s Name Memorial Service 2. From a mobile device, you can either use an internet browser or you can download an app for Apple iOS or Android To set proper expectations: Connectivity is often limited in cemeteries. If you are not able to search and find the livestream, that means the connection was not established and the livestream is NOT available. We will have an audio recording of the funeral service available at a later date.