Florence Birnbaum

FLORENCE BIRNBAUM, 91, LOVED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND STUDENTS Florence Birnbaum, a long-time resident of Mountainside, passed away at home on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. She was born Florence Harriet Green in New Brunswick, NJ, on August 14, 1921. She attended Columbia University in the early 1940's. During World War II she worked as a secretary for Air Force officers at Newark Airport. Florence had a great sense of humor, loved musical theater, and had a keen interest in travel and current events. In 1986, she began what became one of the great joys in her life -- volunteering as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at the Summit YWCA (now The Connection for Women and Families). For the next two decades she taught students from all over the world and remained close to many of them. Her refrigerator was always covered with postcards from former students who often referred to her as their "American mother". Her beloved husband, Robert Birnbaum, passed away in 1985 after 39 years of marriage. Her son, Bill Birnbaum, died in 1997. She is survived and deeply missed by her loving daughter, Marie Hagerty, of Scotch Plains, NJ; adored granddaughters Nicole Robyn Hagerty, Colleen Cecilia Hagerty, and their father, Timothy Hagerty. She will also be greatly missed by John Butcher. Special memories and/or condolences can be sent to RememberingFlorence@gmail.com. Donations in her memory can be made to "The Connection for Women and Families ESL Program" in Summit, NJ.