Gloria A. Berlin

1933 - 2020

With a song on her lips and great love for her children and grandchildren in her heart Gloria A. Berlin died October 11, 2020 in her newly adopted home in Northampton, MA. Where she was born (Newark, NJ, 1933), educated (the boroughs of New York), and worked (various educational and county jobs) were less important to her than the family she raised. She had 4 children (Joanne Kays, Amy Bach, Diane Fisher-Katz and a son) with her first husband, Frank (Katz). They were married for 13 years. Gloria was a solo parent thereafter, devoted fully to her children's safety and successes. Being a mother was her foremost desire and greatest achievement.

In the mid 1970s Gloria got married again, to David S. Berlin, with whom she got to satisfy her wanderlust, likely influenced by her aunts and uncles who travelled the world. Gloria and David travelled all over Europe, Asia and North Africa delighting in their adventure. In the 1990s they moved from White Plains, NY to Cape Cod to be nearer their older grandchildren, Sarah (Locke) and Annalee (Tobin). Together they enjoyed meeting new friends and became Miniature enthusiasts. Gloria enjoyed many other crafts with fiber arts being central to her creative outlet. Gloria was also charmed by visits with her younger set of grandchildren, Aaron and Joel (Fisher-Katz) at their Wellfleet home and surrounding beaches, dunes and ponds.

After her husband, David, died she moved to West Harwich where she lived for more than 10 years. In the spring of 2019 Gloria moved to Northampton to be nearer to another of her children.

Gloria was known for her encyclopedic knowledge of classic books and movies, her keen wit, observations, and wisdom. She has a larger than life place in our hearts. Gloria wanted to be and was surrounded by loved ones every day as her health declined precipitously over the last few weeks.

Gloria was predeceased by her daughter-in-law, Deirdre Scott and her son-in-law Kenny Bach.

As her son-in-law, Larry said, now that she's gone Gloria "knows the secret". If there is a good one to know, we hope she is sharing it with other great souls who remain dearly loved, clearly missed. We've no doubt if there is a place beyond here she'll be watching old movies, singing songs from Broadway musicals, and loving her family into eternity.

The memorial service will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Gloria's name may be made to the Northampton Survival Center or any food pantry of your choice