CAROL FRUITERMAN

On behalf of her kids, we wanted to share some very special memories of our mom.

 

Mom was a tiny but beautiful woman.   She had a striking 80s perm back in the day; she always kept up with the times, and her hair was beautiful and usually perfect.   She had great taste in clothing and always looked much younger than her age.

Mom loved the actor Gene Wilder.  And in fact, in many ways mom was Willy Wonka.  All she wanted to do was make you happy and spoil you.   There were never any limits on sugar cereal or number of desserts.   Ever.  Not even on school nights.    And she loved great food.  When she would bite into something delicious, she would look at you dead in the eye and whisper- “it’s unbelievable.”  And then she would stare at you as you bit into it and say “isn’t it unbelievable?”  And the answer you would give was always the same- Yes, of course.  How do you say no to that?

She was famous for her baking- especially her milky way brownies and creamsicle cake, which I venture to say most everyone in this room has tasted at one time or another.   Whenever anyone would ask her for a recipe, she always had the same response: “I just…..you know....” but she would never actually tell you how she did it.  On holidays, there would be literally too many desserts to count.   Over 10, at least.   Maybe 20, no exaggeration.

When she found out you liked something, she stopped at nothing to get it for you.  She would drive to Catskill to buy David’s special Shop Rite Cheese.  When she found something she liked, she would stock up on it, in fear that the international food supply of that product might actually run out.   Mom had so many bottles of fizzy waters.   You could always find at least ten bottles of ruby red grapefruit seltzer in her fridge.  

She loved her kitchen as well.   In the 90s she renovated her kitchen to a black and white 50’s motif.   She adored that kitchen.  In fact, when she sold the house she wanted to stipulate that the new owner would not change the kitchen in any way ever.  

Mom sometimes had a funny way of communicating.    When she would order at a restaurant, she’d whisper quietly but then over-annunciate her whisper- LIKE THIS- “I’ll have a bacon double cheese burger without out the cheese.”  She would come up with strange nicknames.  Sheeba, her beloved dog, was “deetz”.   To this day, we have no idea why.  But it was “deetz.”  When she’d sign a card, she would sometimes sign it five different ways- Love, Mom, Mommy, Marmy, Madre, Mater.

 

And then, there were the many phases Mom would go through where she would become fanatical about a celebrity.  She would learn everything about them, buy their albums, watch their movies, learn their life stories.  She would share these artifacts with people she loved because she wanted to share her joy with you.   Most of the time, we just humored her and laughed with her at herself.  A few that come to mind:

• Barry Manilow; she actually signed emails “man-i-love” for a brief, very strange period of time.  

  • There was the Andy Kauffman stage. 

  • Gilda Radner- She actually visited the Gilda Radner treatment cancer and visited patients there.  

  • Freddie Mercury, Rosie O’Donnell, Gene Wilder, Ellen DeGenerous, the broadway show Wicked.

  • There was a very unfortunate Meka stage.   Thankfully that passed.  

 

Her love of particular things didn’t stop with people and food.  There were also gadgets.   And again, she’d stock up on them.  Sitting in our garage right now are no fewer than:

• 4 george foreman grills

• 3 smoothie makers

• 2 veggie choppers

• Microsteamers

• Green Pans with very strict instructions for use

• Boxes and boxes of saran wrap

 

Mom was a dedicated professional and a champion for the underdog.  She received her Master’s in Social Work after the age of 40.    She spent many years assisting and providing service to families of those with disabilities.  In fact, she received awards for excellence in service.  We were so happy to be able to experience this part of her life over the years, especially when we went to her retirement party a couple of years ago.   She was truly beloved by her co-workers and families. 

She was an amazing friend and would have given you the shirt off her back.   She loved her friends deeply.  She loved her family- nieces, nephews, brother, parents.   She adored and spoiled her 5 wonderful grandchildren, all of whom are here today.  

 

She would give us chocolate.  She would give herself or you a nickname.  She would buy you CDs and kitchen gadgets you didn’t need or particularly want.  Why?  Because all she ever wanted was to bring you comfort, joy and pleasure.  And, when you boil it down, what we will miss most about our  mom was in a word- kindness.   She only wanted happiness for us.   That was it.   She was a wonderful spirit that the world will miss.We will miss her terribly. We love you mom.  Rest easy.

Carol Fruiterman

- Born February 6, 1947

- Most loving Mother & Grandmother

- Sadly left us on February 8, 2015

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