Grieving Family
The passing of my grandmother was a monumental loss to my family. Alice “Elke” Berman (z”l) was born in Chicago on September 1, 1930 to Moishe and Ethel Becker, two Jewish immigrants from Romania and Belarus.After 94 years of life, Alice Becker Berman passed away on January 21, 2025. Alice was born on September 1, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois to Moishe and Ethel Becker. Alice and her sister Leah grew up closely together as their mother died at a young age. Her parents were deeply dedicated to the rights of workers; the family was active supporting workers’ rights to unionize to protect jobs and income.
She met David Berman when she was 22 through his sister Lucille. In 1953, David and Alice were married and David’s work soon took the new family to Ithaca, New York where Dave taught at the Ithaca College School of Music for 35 years. They had three boys: Steve, Michael, and Daniel.
While raising her young family of three boys, Alice decided to earn her degree and she matriculated part time earning her B.A. in Speech Therapy and soon after earning her Masters Degree from Ithaca College. Alice then worked in the Ithaca Schools as a speech therapist. After many years of teaching she decided to change careers and became a residential real estate where she quickly became one of the more prolific agents in town.
Alice and David built a family for their three sons Steve (Gita), Michael (Judy), and Daniel (Lauren) that reflected the same set of values their parents had modeled for them back in the immigrant days of Chicago. Social justice was a dominant theme in the family. The family co-founded the Ithaca Association for Jewish Studies, a weekly Sunday School for Jewish students to learn about Jewish history and values, and she enrolled her children in Young Judaea, a Zionist youth movement in which they are still active. Alice and David took the family to Israel for a year sabbatical in 1965 and later the family became very active in the fight to secure freedom for embattled Jewish brothers and sisters in the Soviet Union.
In 1989 Alice and David retired to Sarasota, Florida where they continued their activities in the Jewish community. They were co-founders of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Sarasota. David led the choir and Alice was one of the lead singers. They were also active in Americans for Peace Now and never missed an opera show, Broadway play, or symphony concert in the years they lived in Sarasota.
Alice’s greatest joy was her 8 grandchildren: Mara, Aviva and Shira Berman; Oren and Noah Berman; and Eitan, Gil, and Matan Berman. She would regularly take them on trips, host them for a week for her infamous “Camp Bubbie,” and visit them while they were in college. The 8 grandchildren have already grown to 10 great grandchildren with surely more to come.
Alice and David enjoyed a beautiful marriage of 71 years together. She had an incredibly adventurous spirit and organized trips for the two of them all over the world. She was a devoted wife until the end, always being his best advocate for medical care. The two of them served as role models for the rest of the family on how to keep a lively, loving marriage and family.
In 2019, Alice and David moved to Atlanta, Georgia to be closer to family. Although these years were difficult with Covid and aging, she enjoyed simple pleasures and relished in visits by the grandchildren and great grandchildren. She leaves behind a beautiful legacy of Yiddishkeit, the importance of family, and not being afraid to tell it like it is. She will be missed by all who knew her. May her memory serve for a blessing.
Hamakom yenachem etchem b'toch she'ar aveley Tzion v'Yerushalayim.
May the Lord comfort and sustain you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
