Patch and writing by my grandmother.  Her daughter and my mother made the patch directly above this one on the quilt, and directly above my mother's is my personal patch.

My name is Phyllis Feldman Applebaum. I am 72 years old. I am the proud grandmother of Hannah Leona Mermelstein.

There is no one defining moment in my life that has shaped the way I see the world, but there are many treasured memories and moments.

My parents were Russian immigrants who strived to raise their family as Americans. They had escaped from Russia in the early 1900’s, and wanted to assure that their children would not be subject to the totalitarianism and hardships they had endured. I was born in 1929, when my mother and father were 38 and 45 years old, old for having children at that time. They had lost an eight-year-old son the year before from an infection following a tonsillectomy. (No antibiotics in those days!) My two other brothers were 14 and 17 years old.

My oldest brother, Isadore (renamed “Al” by his wife’s family), married when I was four years old. I was the flower girl. I can remember walking down the aisle with my basket of cut flowers and throwing them at my cousins. Once my brother married, he drifted away from our family, and there was little contact with him. He died at the age of 70 in 1983.

My brother Milton did not marry until he was 32. He lived at home until he married, which is the way things were then. He had a very great influence on my life. Since my parents were immigrants, they allowed him to “parent” me as far as school work and “American” culture was concerned. He was a college graduate (night school), and a CPA. He introduced me to theater, concerts, literature, and eventually my profession as a CPA.

Unfortunately, my mother died of cancer at the age of 57, Milton died of complications of Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 36. My father died 12 days after my first child, Ruth, was born. He never saw her because he was hospitalized.

Because I lost my closest family members at a relatively young age, I treasure the family I have now. My husband and I are blessed with four wonderful children who have expanded our family with their wonderful spouses and children. Each family member is distinctive and special. Though their personalities and goals differ, there is respect and love among all of them. Our family is the greatest accomplishment my husband and I have achieved.