Ethel Kaplan

KAPLAN ETHEL SAFRAN KAPLAN It is with deep sorrow and profound gratitude that we share the passing of our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Ethel Bronstein Safran Kaplan, age 98, on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. There is a story that must be told of Ethel's survival during the Holocaust - how with bravery, ingenuity and will, she walked nearly the length of the Soviet Union to escape the genocide that claimed her relatives and friends, and how she then replanted her family tree in Washington, DC, where it branched and flowered to bloom with four children, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. We remember and celebrate not only how she faced death, but how she faced life. She embraced warmth, generosity of spirit, humor and optimism. This was another form of heroism. When her grandchildren were young, she made the choice to permanently remove the plastic covers that had protected her furniture. She clipped coupons and collected loose change in paper rolls, but she spared no expense on Hannukah and birthday gifts. She bought grocery staples in bulk when on sale, unable to escape her anxiety about having enough to eat, but in a freezer covered with school portraits was a stockpile of frozen mandel bread for any relative or neighborhood child who might pay a visit. She had nightmares into her old age, but she risked saying "I love you" all the time. No one could have blamed her had she taught fear, but she taught joy. She taught us how to miss her with tears of joy. She was the beloved wife of the late Rubin Kaplan and the late Louis Safran. Devoted mother of Esther Safran Foer (Bert), Julian Safran (Sandy Caskie), Frances Kaplan Penan (Barrett), and Judy Kaplan Levin (Mark). Cherished grandmother of Franklin Foer (Abby Greensfelder), Jonathan Safran Foer, Joshua Peter Safran Foer (Dinah Herlands), Benjamin Safran (Margot Locker), Jeremy Safran, Stuart Penan (Debbie) and Charles Penan (Albert Garcia). Great-grandmother of Sadie, Sasha, Theo, Cy, Leo and Bea Asya Foer, and Rose, Julia and Zachary Penan. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 20, at 1 p.m. at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street NW, Washington DC. Interment to follow at National Capital Hebrew Cemetery, 4708 Fable Street, Capitol Heights, MD. The family will receive friends at the home of Bert and Esther Foer from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday night, and Saturday through Tuesday nights, with a shiva minyan each night at 7:30. Contributions may be made to the Senior Lunch Program at Adas Israel, or to Washington Home and Community Hospices, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007. Arrangements by Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home under the Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington Contract.her furniture. She clipped coupons and collected loose change in paper rolls, but she spared no expense on Hannukah and birthday gifts. She bought grocery staples in bulk when on sale, unable to escape her anxiety about having enough to eat, but in a freezer covered with school portraits was a stockpile of frozen mandel bread for any relative or neighborhood child who might pay a visit. She had nightmares into her old age, but she risked saying "I love you" all the time. No one could have blamed her had she taught fear, but she taught joy. She taught us how to miss her with tears of joy. She was the beloved wife of the late Rubin Kaplan and the late Louis Safran. Devoted mother of Esther Safran Foer (Bert), Julian Safran (Sandy Caskie), Frances Kaplan Penan (Barrett), and Judy Kaplan Levin (Mark). Cherished grandmother of Franklin Foer (Abby Greensfelder), Jonathan Safran Foer, Joshua Peter Safran Foer (Dinah Herlands), Benjamin Safran (Margot Locker), Jeremy Safran, Stuart Penan (Debbie) and Charles Penan (Albert Garcia). Great-grandmother of Sadie, Sasha, Theo, Cy, Leo and Bea Asya Foer, and Rose, Julia and Zachary Penan. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 20, at 1 p.m. at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street NW, Washington DC. Interment to follow at National Capital Hebrew Cemetery, 4708 Fable Street, Capitol Heights, MD. The family will receive friends at the home of Bert and Esther Foer from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday night, and Saturday through Tuesday nights, with a shiva minyan each night at 7:30. Contributions may be made to the Senior Lunch Program at Adas Israel, or to Washington Home and Community Hospices, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007. Arrangements by Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home under the Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington Contract.