Liny Leah Pajgin Yollick

Yollick, Liny Leah Pajgin Liny Leah Pajgin Yollick died at the age of 89 on January 31, 2014, at the Legacy at Willow Bend senior center in Frisco. She was born in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 14, 1924, into a happy world of European middle-class comfort that became a very challenging life with the rise of German national socialism during her teenage years. What was the giant lesson of Liny's life? You cannot judge people based solely on first or superficial impressions. There are many complexities and secrets in her life. The more that one discovers about Liny is the more that one finds what a truly remarkable person she was. Hers is a life that we should celebrate. Her life should spur us all to endeavor to get to know and relish the complexity of others. Her family suffered through the German invasion of Holland in 1941. Her father, Leo Pajgin, died of a heart attack, because no physician would come to their home as a result of the Nazi-imposed curfew. The Germans required Liny and her two sisters to wear the Star of David on her clothes and imposed other edicts and restrictions upon them. The family escaped in 1942 through France, Spain, and Portugal, largely due to the courage, resilience, and resourcefulness of Liny's mother, Chaja Esther Pajgin. Since the United States would not take Jewish immigrants during World War II, Liny fled by boat to Dutch Guiana (now Surinam) where they lived in houses on stilts in the jungle for two years. Liny came to the United States in 1945 and lived and worked in Washington, D.C., first in the Dutch Embassy and then as a stockbroker. She met her husband, Bernard Yollick, a head and neck surgeon and ear, nose, and throat specialist and they thrived in a loving marriage for almost seven decades. They lived in St. Louis and Houston, where Berny was one of the original faculty members at the University of Texas - M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The Yollicks moved to Dallas in 1960 where Berny started a medical practice and they raised their two children, Ingrid, now an attorney in Maryland, and Eric, now an attorney in The Woodlands. They lived at their home near Royal Lane and Midway Road for more than 50 years. Ingrid graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Smith College, and American University Law School. Eric graduated from St. Mark's School, Princeton University, and SMU Law School. Liny raised her family and ran the business of Berny's medical practice. She was an accomplished bridge player, active fundraiser for many Jewish organizations, and seasoned global traveler. Liny was a painter almost her entire life. She began painting watercolors in Holland. In Dallas, Liny worked in oil painting and enjoyed many art shows which prominently featured her paintings. She was a student of Edith Baker and Betty Winn, both well-known Dallas artists. Even at the age of 88, Liny displayed an extensive and detailed knowledge of the history of Impressionist art and often provided detailed tours of the Dallas and Fort Worth art museums. Liny was a regular speaker at the Dallas Holocaust Museum to children and adult groups. Many of the details of Liny's escape are part of a video biography of her featured at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Liny's beloved husband, Berny, died on June 17, 2012. Liny and Berny, both laid to rest at Emanu-El Cemetery in Dallas, are survived by their two children, Ingrid Alpern and Eric Yollick, three grandchildren, Jason Alpern, Heather Alpern, and Nick Yollick, Liny's two sisters, Vera Sprecher (age 93), and Nellie Halpern (age 86), numerous nephews and nieces, and the hundreds of beloved friends they enjoyed in Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Europe, Israel, and other parts of the world. Ecclesiastes 7:1 states that "the day of one's death [is better] than the day of one's birth" since it affords the opportunity to revel in the accomplishments, adventures, and joys of a person's life. Liny Yollick never avoided controversy. She always had a well-reasoned opinion about almost everything. She displayed a love for others without bound. Liny Yollick's death brought a great adventure, which we should celebrate, to a close.