Faye Myrna Quateman Alexander

1917 - 2023

Our Mother, Faye Myrna (after Myrna Loy) Alexander neé Quateman died on Monday, January 30. She was 105 Years old being born on November 5, 1917 in Chicago, Ill. She survived the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 at age one and then the Covid Pandemic in 2022 at age 104, the latter with the lifesaving treatment provided by Dominican Hospital. She was one of four children born to Rebecca Weinstein and Nathan Quateman. Her husband Joel and three siblings Lillian, Adeline and Marvin predeceased her. She and Joel were married for 65 years.Faye attended Mason Elementary School and Harrison High School in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Chicago, her beloved U of C, having majored in French and then received a Master's Degree in Education from Chicago Teachers College.A lifelong educator and learner, Faye taught elementary school French at Jamison School, became a Guidance Counselor at Von Steuben High School, supervised student teachers for the Chicago Consortium of Teachers Colleges and ended her career as the Foreign Student Credential Analyst for the Chicago Board of Education. She was in charge of integrating all non-English speaking children into the Chicago Public Schools. She also worked as the College and Career Counselor for the Upward Bound Program at Loyola University of Chicago. Upward Bound is a program directed at disadvantaged, inner-city youth and intended to give them a path to educational success.For many years Faye and Joel had season tickets for the Chicago Bears. She complained bitterly about the cold winters at those games for the rest of their life. She was also a Chicago Cubs fan and loved to name the players on the teams from the 1930s. In 1982 Faye and Joel retired and relocated to Aptos, CA. However, retirement was a word Faye never knew. She became an Ombudsman for residents of Nursing Homes in Santa Cruz County, volunteered at her polling place every year. participated and/or led a French Group, an Opera Group, a Great Books Group, and a New Yorker Group. She taught Yiddish at Temple Beth El where she and Joel were long time members. She also took water aerobic classes until age 104.Faye and Joel were lifelong golfers. They were long time members of Pasatiempo. Joel was a scratch golfer and won tournaments in his younger days. Unfortunately for him, in their late 80's she began to outdrive him.A world traveler, Faye's last trip was to France at the age of 100 where she loved to use her fluent French. If we dared to speak French in her presence, she invariably corrected our pronunciation and explained the proper sounds and syntax. She and Joel took multiple trips to Europe, Asia, Hawaii, Israel and Canada.A true force of nature, Faye touched and inspired everyone she met. She had tons of friends many much younger than she. Her energy was limitless and legendary.Faye is survived by her three children, Michael (Toby), David (Pauline Fox) and Ellen (Lourdes Miranda), six grandchildren, Jonathan, Jane, Peter, Rebecca, Kevin, and Lauren and seven great grandchildren Jacob, Nathaniel, Cooper, Lily, Maisey, Ava and Emma. So, Ma have a martini and another piece of chocolate and take your well-deserved rest. You always told us to roll with the punches but losing you was the hardest punch of all. May your memory be for a blessing!A memorial service in Faye's honor will be held on Thursday February 9th at Temple Beth El Aptos, CA at 11AM.Donations may be made to Temple Beth El, Dominican Hospital. Or Usher Syndrome Society1544 Central Avenue, Needham, MA 02492 or Usher Syndrome Coalition, 9 Cornerstone Square, Suite 400-224, Westford, MA 01886.