Leba Berman, 90, kept youthful spirit

Leba Berman often said that she might look like an old person. But she always felt like a young person inside.

And that's exactly how she lived her life, say those who knew her. Mrs. Berman, who died Feb. 12 at age 90, was an adventurous spirit who traveled around the globe — including 16 trips to her beloved Israel — earned an advanced degree while raising five children and continued working until her late 70s because, she decided, she wasn't done. Along the way, she never stopped laughing.

She was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., to Harry and Miriam Fierst, a family deeply committed to their Jewish heritage. That passion would become a guiding force in her life. And it would lead to her first adventure.

In 1927, the family made a trip to what was then Palestine (and is now Israel), where her brother had his bar mitzvah. He was the first American to hold the sacred rite of passage there, family members said. The trip made such an impression on her she talked about it well into her 80s.

She graduated from Smith College, and with her husband, Alfred Berman, began raising a family and moved to Mercer Island in 1953. After years as a stay-at-home mom, Mrs. Berman went back to school, earning a master's degree in social work from the University of Washington in 1961 and going to work as a state caseworker. Alfred Berman passed away in 1965.

After that, Mrs. Berman spent about 15 years in Washington, D.C., near her brothers. She worked in child protective services before retiring and moving back to Seattle.

Her retirement would not last long. Drawn to children, she began doing adoption home studies for Jewish Family Service. Mrs. Berman kept at that until she was nearly 80.

"It was her delight," her daughter, Linda Levy, said.

Many of the adoptive families stayed in touch with Mrs. Berman, including Kim von Henkle and her husband, Chuck Weinstock, who often invited her to their daughter's birthdays and other family milestones.

"We called her Grandma Leba," von Henkle said.

Mrs. Berman was just as devoted to her own children and grandchildren. Her daughter, Susan Moon, a teacher, said her mother came to her school every year, just to meet the new class and "tell them how wonderful I was," Moon recalled with a laugh.

"By golly, she even came to my class in Israel," Moon said.

With all the time she devoted to family, Mrs. Berman also managed to find considerable time for Hadassah, a Jewish women's organization of which she was a life member. She served on the board of the Mt. Scopus Group of the local chapter, organizing countless social and educational events. She also instilled in her children and grandchildren a great love of Judaism.

Levy said as a young woman, she sometimes felt let down because her mother didn't teach her the typical female things, such as baking and sewing and putting on makeup.

"Then a light turned on," Levy said. "I realized what a role model she was for me as a strong intellectual and educated woman." Her mother, she realized, always knew what was important.

In addition to daughters Moon, of Seattle, and Levy, of Berkeley, Calif., Mrs. Berman is survived by daughters Barbara Hayes and Bonnie Levine, both of Seattle; and by a brother, Leonard Fierst of Silver Spring, Md. She is predeceased by a son, Richard Berman, and a brother, Herbert Fierst. Her extended family includes six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A service was held for Mrs. Berman on Feb. 14.

Donations in Mrs. Berman's memory may be made to Hadassah, 1750 112th Ave. N.E., Suite C225, Bellevue, WA 98004 (specifically to the Mother and Child Pavilion in Ein Kerem).

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published February 24, 2007, was corrected February 28, 2007. Leba Berman was on the board of the Mt. Scopus Group of Seattle Chapter Hadassah. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated she was on the board of the chapter itself.