Ethel Elfenbein Goldberg

Resident of Watsonville

January 8, 1911 - June 24, 2012

Ethel died peacefully at her home of natural causes.  She was 101 years old. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Marc Reinig and Sandy Kaplan, her grandchildren, Carly (Chris) Covey and Lyle Kaplan-Reinig, her great granddaughter Vayda Mae Covey and many cousins, nieces, nephews and riends.

Her first husband, Edward Reinig and her second husband Louis Goldberg preceded her in death.  During the 1940's and 1950's she was a single and devoted parent to her son and passed on her love of learning, art, travel and animals.

Ethel was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.  She traveled to Palestine with her family in 1919 where she lived and visited much of Europe and the Middle East, returning to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1921.  She studied art in high school and developed into an accomplished artist, studying with Saturday Evening Post illustrator Richard Sargent.  Art was a pastime she pursued all her life.  After high school, Ethel studied nursing, training at Case Western Reserve University and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, OH, and became a registered nurse in 1935.  She scored in the top 10 of the Ohio state nursing certification exam that year.  She was a pacifist and when World War II broke out, she entered the U.S. Public Health Service to serve her country. She worked in the underserved areas of West Virginia until 1945.  After getting married, she moved to California and became a school nurse for the Los Angeles City Schools, retiring in 1970.  In 1986, she moved to Watsonville to be near her family.  She remained active all her life, continuing her education, painting and traveling.

Though she was not a wealthy woman, even after retirement she continued to give generously of her time and money.  Most recently, she divided her time volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, Renaissance High School, and as treasurer for the Pajaro Valley Art Club.  In 2003, the Mayor of Watsonville recognized her for her volunteer work; in 2005, the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity honored her for her dedicated service; and in 2006, the Renaissance High School Library was named the Ethel Goldberg Library in honor of her over 14 years of service.  In 2008, Ethel received a personal acknowledgement from Wisconsin's First Lady, Jessica Doyle, as an extraordinary woman.

She lived independently by herself, with her dog and cat, Colleen and Nattie until her death.  In her final days, her family and Hospice of Santa Cruz cared for her at her home.

Ethel saw incredible changes in her life and always was interested in new evelopments.  She was born in the age of steam and in her final years enjoyed looking at pictures from the Mars Landers.  In all that time, one thing didn't change: her love of her family, friends and humanity.  We'll all miss her.

God's speed, Mom.

Donations may be made in her memory to Hospice of Santa Cruz, the Friends of atsonville Animal Shelter, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, Project Purr, Renaissance High School, Habitat for Humanity of Santa Cruz or the nonprofit

of your choice.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.

For the complete article see the 07-14-2012 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 07-14-2012 paper.

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