Obituary

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A Survivor’s Story

Chronology of the life of
Elisabeth (Lisa) Neumann Ruden Earle

Chronology of the Happenings in the life of Elisabeth (Lisa) Neumann Ruden Earle

…a long time before I arrived in Vienna via a Cesarean birth, March 11th, 1920…

Way back in 1860, in a little “Staettl” in Russia –now Poland- Bielitz-Biala – a feisty, strong little baby boy was born- his mother, Rosa Rosenberg, his father, whose Oil painting eventually hung above the piano in my Grandfather’s home in Vienna and was much later looted by the Nazis, his name: Jacob Rosenberg. His story deserves probably to be written about much more than mine…
I wish I knew all the facts of his early life in more detail, but as I remember, having been told by my wonderful, gentle, lovely Grandmother – his wife for over 50 years, as it turned out, he and his brother Theodore struck out at a very early age, about 19 or 20, to explore that big, exciting wonderland, our earth! Theodore supposedly wound up in South Africa –Johannesburg- where he became the patriarch of a huge family. Unfortunately, our branch of the family lost track of Theodore and his clan.
His brother, my Grandfather Jacob, travelling through the hills and vales of Europe, eventually landed in Vienna, where he fell in love with a lovely young woman, who worked in a famous Delicatessen shop. As the story goes, she was helping in arranging the shop window, hanging delicious Hungarian Salamis artistically on a shelf. When Jacob went by, he saw some well shaped calves climbing up the ladder and the rest is history. After he went inside to buy some of that Salami and met the lady whose legs had caught his attention, an illustrious courtship began. Schanet Winter, after being courted and totally overwhelmed with the admiration Jacob showered upon her, soon became “Lotti” –her nickname- Rosenberg, Jacob’s beloved wife!
Jacob, who was obviously born with a huge sense of “Wanderlust”, soon persuaded his new wife to first travel to Bari, Italy, for their honeymoon. Then East they went to the exciting city of Constantinople, Turkey, one of the most exciting places in those years. Lotti gave birth to her first child, my mother, Selma and a year later, another, my Aunt Hermine, the mother of my special Cousin, Walter, who is like a brother to me. Jacob, who by now made a living as an Interpreter and Tourist guide ( he supposedly spoke by now 9 languages (Russian, Polish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, English, Turkish, Italian (I know, I know, I didn’t believe it either…)
To make this long story as short possible – since this is supposedly just an introduction to the Chronology of my life – the next ten first years of their long marriage were spent by Jacob dragging his (loving, but long suffering) Lotti all over Europe, most of the time pregnant (14 pregnancies). From Turkey to Budapest, then Czechoslovakia, finally settling in Austria, in beautiful Vienna with their 7 children ( seven others died in infancy).
So, all told, here then were Jacob’s Children: There was Selma, my mother, Hermine, Walter’s mother, Adolf, my Cousin Resi’s father, Rosa, Kaethe, Gustav, finally the youngest, my beloved Aunt Klari, the only Holocaust survivor, who spent 3 years in a Concentration camp and who lived out her life in the U.S. after we brought her to live with us in 1949.
I was an only child, but Hermine, besides Walter, had an extended family. Her first husband, Hermann Hirschhorn, a gifted Violinist, who died very young –TB- left her widowed with two children, Josef (Joschi) and Julie. When she remarried the illustrious Emil Roikov, a Rumanian Nobleman, she gave birth to the aforementioned Walter ( Dr. Walter Roy, a brilliant Educator, now retired) and my cousin, Lucy. Lucy is now a matriarch of her own, there is a grandson, who just graduated as a medical doctor, I hear. Julie Meissl had two children, Eve and Peter. Eve , another gifted Educator, had 4 children, who were also quite prolific – they all will leave a mark of the Rosenberg Genes along the way, I presume. Quite an impressive bunch of attractive, brainy, charming people!
Well, enough of looking back to my Clan, as they say in Scotland – but I think, you will get the gist of my roots –I believe, an interesting tapestry, all in all.

1920

Elisabeth Neumann was born in Vienna, in the 8th district on the Lerchenfelderstrasse # 198 to Arnold(Adolf) Neumann and Selma Rosenberg Neumann, their first and only child.They had been married in 1912 in Hungary, settled in Vienna, where her parents, Jacob and Schanet Rosenberg lived. He had spent 4 years as a Corporal in the Hungarian Army, fought in World War I on the Isonzo (Italien) Front , from whence he returned wounded, suffering from Malaria and Shrapnel wounds.

1923

The family moved to Baden bei Wien, where Mother Selma, a Milliner and Hat Designer, opened her Salon, her husband in charge of the clerical department and billing etc. Elisabeth, now called “Boeszi” (Hungarian version for “Lisa” or “Betty”) went to school there for the first two years )Kindergarten and First Grade.

1927

After stormy legal battles with an Anti-Semitic Landlord, which he won, the family moved back to Vienna, sharing an apartment with Selma’s Sister Hermine and her family, the Roykovs. Depression had begun, her was a shortage of living quarters and the two families lived in cramped quarters for three years, never again owning their own facilities.

1931

Another move for the Neumanns, this time sharing an apartment with Frau Schwarz and her two daughters, Hilda and Gertie. The location was a special on, close to the famous Schoenbrunn Castle, which became Boeszi’s playground after school. The School offered –as their foreign language program Latin, with all the other modern foreign tongues. Father Arnold insisted to chose Latin, the basis of so many of our foreign languages – a blessings, as it turned out to be…

1935

A move to the second district –the famous Leopoldstadt, where the most Jewish people of Vienna lived. This was close the the Prater and the commercial and business opportunities. I spent one year at the Allina business school and hurried to get a job as a typist, since money was still mighty scarce in the family. Definitely poverty background for Boeszi, now 16 and full of dreams for the future…

1938

On Boeszi’s 18th birthday, March 11th 1938, Adolf Hitler marched into Vienna –my friend Lily Probst and I actually watched him riding down the Ringstrasse, his right hand up in the typical stance of “Heil Hitler”, not realizing, that this moment the life of all my family and so many other Jewish families was being changed completely!

1939 –The Giant Step!

We receive affidavits from our American relatives and try to get cleared for the BIG Move to the United States to escape the threatening forebodings that Hitler’s speeches promise for the Jewish population. My mother and I are cleared, but Father, through his unfortunate neglectfulness to clear his minor legal matters years ago, is not allowed to leave yet. The fact, that the Hungarian Immigration Quota was filled, was no help either –he was born in Hungary… My parents decide to send me ahead into safety, hoping to join me as soon as possible. Mother, who could have joined me, decides to wait it out at my father’s side – a fatal error! She and my Dad –in1942 – were taken to a death camp in Mali Trostinec, Russia and shot and their bodies, with many others, thrown into the infamous ditches, as I only recently (2006) found out, when the Russians finally released the names of the victims of the Holocaust!

Nevertheless, I myself arrive safely in New York, April 15th, 1939 crossing the Atlantic on the Aquitania, the second largest boat for the Cunard Line at that time! Not realizing the seriousness of my situation – I was a teenager full of exciting dreams for my future- I had spent 8 days in Paris with friends,who also tried to escape the threatening situation in Austria and Germany. Somehow, I managed to make an adventure out of a heartbreaking “Good bye” to my childhood! The face of my beloved mother at the railroad station in Vienna, trying to hold back her tears, will always be edged in my memory, yet my inborn positive nature helped to tell myself, that they will join me soon again and I must make the best out of this trip to my new country! So, yes, Paris was fun, seeing the sights, that I had read about so often, was truly balm for all my fears – I had stepped alone, hopefully, into an exciting, wonderful new life, away from all the poverty and struggle of my childhood! However, I was armed with the strong, powerful, undying love of my wonderful, self-sacrificing parents, which helped me through so many rough, tragic future moments!

On the “Aquitania”

So many “firsts” for young Boeszi, who had never seen the ocean, having lived all her life in beautiful, but landlocked Austria…The first three days of the Atlantic crossing were rough, everyone very seasick and Boeszi being comforted by interesting strangers, young men, who had left Europe for similar reasons as she. After developing sea legs, she had a grand, exciting time on board, dancing to the “Lambeth Walk”, the most popular tune of the time, enjoying fabulous food –after being close to starvation while living under Hitler for a year! It all seems like a dream. Finally, we arrive in New York and after all sorts of lengthy examination (eyes, vital signs etc.) and check points, we are allowed to leave the boat. Looking down the ramp, I was startled to see a familiar face, the female replica of my father’s countenance. Aunt Helen, my father’s older sister, was at the pier with her son in law, Joe Lapidus, awaiting my arrival!

New York, New York

1939
From April through June

Living with Aunt Helen, sister of my Dad, and my Cousin Hilda in Knickerbocker Village, working for three months at various little jobs and learning to speak English –I actually feel like Alice in Wonderland…

July 1939

I am enrolled as a Student in Camp Roosevelt in Ocala, Florida and am studying Beauty Culture. There I meet –which turned out to be- my best Friend, Daisy Schwarz and other “Refugees”, Alice Beck, Theodora Rispler, Margaret Eisenhart and others. This was a wonderful, one year program sponsored by the National Youth Administration (NYA), a branch of the famous WPA.

July 1940

After completing all studies and graduating as Junior Operators after taking the State board exam, Daisy and I are placed, under the guidance of the HIAS Coordinating Committee for Immigrants, as residents of Miami. We both obtain jobs in different Beauty Shops and are earning a meager living. In Miami Beach, close to the Ocean, where both of us go swimming each morning before work, we feel in seventh heaven.

I am of course, also writing religiously to the State Dept. in Washington, to obtain a Visa for my parents – my efforts, however, sadly never bore fruits…but more of that horrible happening (Holocaust) later…

Very soon after our arrival, I meet –which turned out to be – my fate, Simon Ruden! He seemed like a dream come true, the kindest, gentlest, most handsome Prince Charming, I could ever have wanted to meet…

We met -where else?- swimming in the Ocean, where I usually went before work. He and his cousin, Mitchell Barr, had obviously the same idea and after a little bantering, we proceeded to go for a cup of coffee in a little coffee shop near the beach! The rest is history, as they say…

1940 -41

Our courtship was a delight - Simon’s Employer, Leonard Barr, an Immigrant himself, had been a big success as a merchant, he being a true business Genius, and he loved my “boyfriend” Simon. He wined us and dined us, there were parties, fishing adventures and the ten months of our courtship were simply travelling on cloud nine…

We were married in Leonard’s beautiful home on Sheridan Ave in Miami Beach on May 14th, 1941. My Aunt Helen, who had come South for the wedding, gave me away and my best friend, Daisy, was my Maid of Honor. What a heavenly event, truly unforgettable! Leonard’s wife, Marion, loaned me her own wedding dress and soon after the wedding, we set out on our Honeymoon, to meet my new sister-in-law, Goldie and her husband, Nat.

Lake Junalaska, in Waynesville, N.C. was our first stop – we had also stopped in old Camp Roosevelt to say “Hello” to my teachers and I proudly introduced my new Hubby!

1941

New York –the final stop on our honeymoon to meet Simon’s father, Ralph Ruden (Rudensky) and his beloved sister, Goldie Borah, married a few months before to Nat Borah, a feisty, aggressively brilliant Lawyer. We visit also other relatives and friends of my new husband as well as my own, and spend some time, horseback riding, seeing Broadway shows, having a truly wonderful time…

Then back to Miami Beach to set up housekeeping! Basically, we both are truly in seventh heaven …

Comes Pearl Harbor, Dec.7th, 1941, the day of Infamy and the US joins Great Britain in what has now become World War II!

1941-43

Moving back and forth (for Economic reason – after all, we started our marriage with our little saving of $ 1,000.-, saved from working through our first season in Florida) from summer in Miami Beach to moving to cheaper quarters back to Miami , Simons number is finally called and he joins the Army Air Corps. After a tearful “Good bye” to be shipped to Boot camp in Camp Blanding, he is surprisingly chosen to be stationed in Miami Beach, which the Armed forces had acquired for their use of training the soldiers. It proved to be a lucky draw, since he was allowed to live off base with his wife (with me!!!) while being stationed in one of those beautiful Ocean front hotels. His assignment: to be part of the crew of ships, that policed our coast line in Florida. Sometimes the had passenger cruising with them, like General Arnold, General Marshall and other “Big” shots for an R.& R. on board…a fabulous assignment!

A strange way to build our life together, but also a most delightful one, since we “Army/Navy wives were allowed over the weekends to enjoy those fabulous accommodations.

1944/45

Simon is transferred to Fort Jackson, in Augusta, Georgia (I am joining him shortly thereafter) as an Instructor (I & E) He is now ranked as Staff Sergeant and I also take a job as clerk in the Army Post Office. We have a room off base and he commutes daily to his duties in Camp Jackson. We are still awaiting daily the call to be shipped overseas and treasure every moment together…

1945

The Call never comes, even after being transferred to Fort McClellan, in Anniston, Alabama. By the middle of the year, the War is over and after serving our country for three and a half years, Simon is being discharged and we are heading back to Miami, where his old job, working as a Credit manager for his cousin Leonard Barr, is waiting for him!

We move to a tiny place in Pinewood (Miami) and for a few months he works with Leonard, but decides quickly, that he wants to work independently in the clothing business.

1946

We move to Fort Lauderdale, where Simon begins a Credit route for himself. For six month we live in a fabulous Oceanfront House –the rent for the summer was ridiculously low for this luxurious place. Alas, by the beginning of the winter season we had, of course, to move and were
renting an apartment in the old Naval Air Station. I am joining the Miami Opera Chorus, a delightful past time, our first presentation under the Impresario, Dr. Arturo de Philippi, being the unforgettable ”Rigoletto” by Verdi. “Madame Butterfly” by Puccini followed in the same season. I sang with the guild for 7 Magic years –a thrilling, enriching, delightful experience!!!

1947/1952

Simon opens a store in Fort Lauderdale and I am helping him run it, while he still works on the “Route”, selling Clothes on credit and collecting each Saturday. Rough work, we are saving as much as possible, but loving every minute of being together. We are planning to have a family, but without success, dreaming and hoping for the future…

There are trips to N.Y. to visit our families, in l948 even a six week fabulous trip in our brand new, chartreuse Ford Convertible to Old Mexico, while we hire a friend to collect the outstanding bills.

Life is GOOD! Working, singing, loving, friends, Opera, family visits…however it is bittersweet! After many inquiries, there are no news of survival of my beloved parents, only a note from the Red Cross, that in 1942 they had been taken from their home in Vienna to Minsk. Many years later, in 2006, I get news of happened to them…The had become victims of the Holocaust, they and my Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt and my best friend…
1948

My mother’s youngest sister, Klara Rosenberg, the lone survivor of the Holocaust, has been located and we bring her to the U.S. to join our family.

1952

Adoption of Lenny (Leonard Arnold Ruden) a darling, charming baby,fulfilling our innermost dreams! We are also building our dream house next to Holiday Park! and

Simon decides to enter Miami Law school under the G.I.Bill and becomes a Lawyer in 1958, while running the business with my help. He puts up his “Shingle” in l958 first alone, the takes on Hugh Glickstein as his partner!

1958

Susanne Sari Ruden, a little beauty,arrives in the household you join her brother, Lenny.

1958/1960

Busy raising two wonderful children, we join the local Jewish Temple (Emanu-El) and become solid citizens, taking the kids to Sunday school, socializing with other young couples, life is busy, fulfilling, lots of love in the air!

T’was the Good Times, indeed!

1961

On our 20th Wedding anniversary we take a cruise on the “Franca C”, an Italian Cruiser and visit Europe, an exciting, fabulous experience! We disembark in Genoa, then rent a car and motor through Italy, Riviera, Florence, Venice, then driving north into Austria to visit my hometown, Vienna and the few relatives, who had survived: My Uncle Gusti Rosenberg and my Cousin Resi and her husband and son.

1962/1963

We are busy raising our children, there are summer vacations in the mountainous areas of the U.S., Fontana village, a delightful resort in North Carolina! After a second visit, our beautiful little girl, then only 4 ½ years old, develops what turns out to be a deadly disease, Leukemia, and only after a six week battle in the hospital, she passes away –a truly mortal blow to our happiness! With her seem to go all our future dreams…

A heartbroken man, Simon, who adored that little angel, he himself strangely is diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s disease…a similar blood cancer…

The Doctor decides not to tell him this fact –I was told the truth and given hope, that this was a slow moving cancer, that could be under control for at least another 15 years. A year later, with the disease under seeming control, Simon decides to try for another adoption and against the Doctors advice, we go ahead and make arrangements for another addition to the family…

1964

After waiting for a possible female birth, all cases that are available for adoption, turn out to be male and getting impatient, we decide on a wonderful little boy baby, David William Ruden –the best behaved, cutest addition to our ailing family. Only three month later, there comes about a possibility (Simon as a Lawyer had at that time fairly easy access to such information) to adopt a little baby girl, which had been promised to a couple,waiting for a boy…When Simon came to me and asked me if I had the courage to accept this added responsibility – I could not say “no” to this wonderful, caring man and so our wonderful little daughter, Julia Antonia Ruden, entered our life!

1964/66

The most bittersweet time of our lives…an wonderful, but ailing Simon, being treated for this incurable cancer, we both knew he had, but were denied to discuss (Doctor/s orders - unbelievable now) and yet enjoying and raising two adorable babies, the “almost” twins, David and Julie! To complete this unbelievable situation, I keep going to the University for Studies to work on my degree. Simon is encouraging me constantly to continue going to school –somehow he senses, I may have to use this education to make a living for the family – who knows...

1967
One last try for a cure: in January I am taking Simon to try a highly touted new treatment in Mexico (called Laetril) that he wants to try…We fly to Los Angeles, and then rent a car and I drive him to Tijuana, Mexico, across the border. Looking back, it seems like a horrible nightmare – we find the famed Doctor with the magic medicine gone and we end up going back to a San Diego Hospital. For eight days he stays in the hospital, undergoes surgery for a bleeding ulcer that had developed due to all the meds he had taken. My sister in Law, Goldie is informed of the situation and joins me in the heartbreaking ordeal. His Cousin, Dr.Julian Ruden, also comes to “visit” and tries to do his best under the circumstances, but Simon dies in my arms on January 22nd, a date, that will always be remembered as a “Day of Infamy” in my book…

Chronology from the time I was widowed (Jan. 1967)

Feb.1967
Transferred to FAU in Boca, after receiving my AA degree at the Broward Community College. Before my beloved husband, Simon Ruden, passed away, he still vicariously could enjoy my successful Graduation. I graduated as # 2 highest (# 3.48), having lost to a male student by 0.02 points. I remember his wonderful smile, as he looked at the pictures in the local news paper…Shortly after the ceremony, I flew with him to California, then to Mexico, to try one more questionable cancer treatment. It failed, and returning to the U.S. with my sister in law, Goldie Borah by my side, God bless her, Simon died in my arms at a San Diego, Cal. Hospital. The return flight back to Fort Lauderdale, with his body in a duffle bag in the luggage compartment, was heartbreaking…the subsequent funeral equally so…

1967-69
Working toward BA degree at FAU, while teaching German at BCC. Heading International Foreign Language Ass.

July 1969
Graduating, receiving BA at FAU.
Trip to Israel with Temple Emanu-El group, visiting Rome and Greece. Children Julie and David spend three weeks at Montessori school (they were at the time 5 years old.)

1970-2
Teaching German at BCC, producing Variety shows for IFLA while studying at FAU. Children enrolled at NOVA Elementary School, Lenny going to BCC for AA degree, taking Piano lessons. I am helped with the kids by a wonderful lady, Mrs. Cook.

1972 Trip to Europe to gather material for Master Thesis (Negations in German). Children enrolled in Swiss Camp, at Chateau d’Oex, near Geneva. I visit the Universities at Zurich, Vienna, Innsbruck (Austria), then see my Cousins in Vienna, travel via Eurail pass to Italy, visit Naples, Sorrento, Pompey, see Cousins George and Ann Popkin in Capri, visit Milan, than by train back to Switzerland to pick up Julie and David at their wonderful Camp. By Car we drive to Luxemburg, after visit to Heidelberg and return to the states. A wonderful experience for all of us!

1972-1976
This period in my life was a truly busy one, in which I crammed in unbelievably numerous activities, teaching at BCC, studying at FAU for my Master’s Degree, supervising the household, with the help of various wonderful women to help me, playing tennis with my two active, beloved kids, Julie and David, and even starting to date.

I had joined a group, called “Parents without Partners” which proved to be a blessing for the kids as well as myself, meeting people with similar problems, having our children involved in certain social doings, picnics, square dances etc. I even received a trophy for a one time Jitterbug competition, dancing having been a passion for me all my life!

In the summer, both children were enrolled in a Jewish Summer camp, Camp Blue Star in Hendersonville, North Carolina for two years, while a doubled up on my studies at FAU, working on my master program.

There were so called numerous “Father figures” for my children appearing in my life, most of them well meaning, fairly interesting persons, so called “Winners” as well as “Losers”, some charming and fun, others boring yet pleasant enough to try and heal a certain loneliness, that was bound to pop up once in a while…the Bobs. The Jacks, the Jerrys, most rather forgettable, then Dan, a rather sensitive, intelligent, thoughtful “Mama’s Boy”, this a more memorable, important experience.

1976
Jim Earle, another Suitor, who was introduced to me by a dear girlfriend- Maxine- had entered my life, a charming man, who had some months ago lost his wife. He had five grown children, who seemed to be quite special and admirable. Hoping to fill that terrible void that was left by Simon’s death in 1967 – no father for my beloved kids, now 12 years old, - I decided to accept his proposal and we were married on the 14th of August 1976.

We took a trip to Europe on our Honeymoon, visited my Cousin Walter and his family in Norwich, England, another Cousin, Josie and her family in London and then flew for a visit to Spain and toured that fascinating country by car, stopping at medieval castles, that had been transformed into lovely Hotels with the latest accommodations, We also went through Portugal,visited more fabulous castles, then cruised for a short visit to the northern coast of Africa. We embarked in Algeciras, passed Gibraltar and spent some time in Ceuta, shopping, sightseeing in the Medina, a different world altogether, non-European, completely Arabic and totally fascinating!

While we were gone, the kids again spent the time in a Summer Camp, David in Ocala together with Jim’s Grandson, Dougie and Julie in Camp Withlacoochee, in North Florida.

Lenny, my oldest son, at that time 24 years old and having received his Associate Degree from BCC, was on his own and working, doing his own thing, so to speak. He had lost his Dad in a terribly needy time of his life, at 15, a time where a teenager can truly get lost…he had gone through rough times through peer pressure and was simply muddling through. How he finally found his true calling, receiving his RN degree and now working in a great Hospital as a Top nurse, is a story all by itself and I am very proud of him. More about him and his development later...

1977

Trying to adjust to new, married life a second time was not easy, especially where my children were concerned, who had been used to a loving, easy going mother, but who was a very poor disciplinarian and when Jim, a retired Marine Master Sergeant, entered the life of my precious kids, they simply couldn’t handle the strict, military way, in which he tried to help. All in all, it was a very tough time for all concerned, to say the least!

1978

We travel as a family to the “Far East, with Jim as a retired Marine having the privilege to fly “Space available”, as it was called. What a fabulous experience for all of us! We first crossed the United States by car from Florida to California and then hopped a Military plane from L.A. to Hawaii. After being robbed there of our wonderful camera, loaded with pictures of our transcontinental trip, we left Hawaii rather disillusioned, of course, to fly to Tokyo. After touring Japan (Kyoto, Mount Fuji etc.) we went to Okinawa, then fascinating Taiwan, where all those fabulous Chinese treasures landed, thanks to Chan-ghei-check.
When we returned, it was clear, the certain changes were necessary for the good of all concerned, because of the now strained atmosphere at home. David was enrolled in a military school in St.Petersburg (The Admiral Farragut)

1979

A most turbulent year! Julie, now alone aboard with me and her very strict Stepfather, was clearly disturbed and unhappy and even acted out by hurting herself out of frustration – a heartbreaking incident! It was decided, to enroll her at the Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, a highly recommended Boarding school. In the middle of all these changes, I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer and was operated (successfully) in Miami by a wonderful Swedish Surgeon, Dr. Nordquist. After Six weeks of Radiation treatment, that followed, we managed to wind up the year by hooks and by crooks, as they say…Just as I stated, a VERY TURBULENT YEAR was 1979!!!

1980-1984

With both children safely ensconced in different schools and so removed from a much too turbulent home situation, we spent most of our leisure time visiting them on weekends, sometimes taking trips through Florida to visit his grown children and their growing families. The Earles were a most fertile family… His oldest child, a lovely, talented woman, Diana, married to Doug, with one son, little Dougie, became a true soul mate. She was a multi-talented Artist, a trained Pianist and Singer, a fine musician. He also had four sons, Jim Jr., Tim, who was a talented artist, Richard –admittedly my favorite, a Football Coach in High school, and Michael, who became an R.N., just like my own son, Lenny Ruden.

I had dropped my Master program due to a difficult Professor, but Jim encouraged me to “rise above” those differences of opinion and again I went back to school, working on my Master thesis in FAU. Studying was very healing to my psyche and to my anguish throughout this period of my life, because my marriage to Jim, although quite fulfilling in some ways, became rather difficult in other unexpected ways. This was particularly obvious concerning my beloved, small children, in desperate need for a loving, kind and patient father. I had hoped that the presence of such a father figure in our household would help my children in a positive way! As it turned out, Jim was a strict, harsh, military disciplinarian, so they ended up in boarding schools, hoping that this would be the best way to solve the dilemma we were in! . Many mistakes were made, I am sure …

At the end of the year of 1983, I ended up in the Holy Cross Hospital with a Thrombosis is my left arm, due to an overdose of the Cancer medication (Megace) that I had been given. By that time, the children had finished their basic schooling and David was accepted into a Military College in Newport prior to going to Annapolis. Julie was busy working for a former teacher. Before my hospital stay, we had traveled with David to Europe, before accompanying him to his military assignment in Newport, Rhode Island. This was the Preparatory College before he entered Annapolis the following year. We visited Great Britain to see my family, particularly my oldest Cousin, Joschi, who was very ill (he died shortly after our visit), then Austria to see Cousin Resi and her family in Vienna and even went back to Chateau d’Oex, in Switzerland to visit Otto and Josee, the couple who ran the camp, when he and Julie were enrolled there as small kids.

1984-85
Julie graduated from her Boarding school and decided to join a Kibutz in Israel for the next year – it turned out to be a dismal experience for her and she returned in less than four months to go back to her job with her Teacher, now her boss, Betty, for the next year. Again I went back to school to finish the studies and the weekends consisted of visiting David in Newport, R.I. The basic training proved extremely rugged and David landed in the hospital with a collapsed lung -a frightening situation, but resolved happily after a successful operation. Julie, his loving sister, joined us, of course, to assure him of our devotion and love!

There was also a short interlude during this period in our marriage when, after a visit of my favorite cousin, Hilda, I decided to try a separation from the difficulties the union with Jim seemed to present. Hilda and I moved into a little apartment just to be able to think things through. After three months and many sad pleadings and promises by Jim to try and make things better I returned to 501 Solar Isle, my lovely house so beautifully cared for and landscaped by Jim, making it ready for my return.

Nevertheless, I realized that the time had come to try and truly change things around – Jim had always resented the friends and contacts that I inherited from my first marriage. He was a loving, but extremely possessive person and simply couldn’t accept to be constantly reminded of my former life with Simon. I decided to put my home on the market despite the fact, that I loved this beautiful house I had lived in for more than 20 years. But – time had come for a change if there was any chance to continue my life with Jim. I did not like the idea of divorce, if it was at all avoidable; I was willing to try again.

1986

We sell our beloved abode in Fort Lauderdale and move to Lake Placid, Florida, away from the disturbing elements of the past which my husband couldn’t seem to handle very well. We find a modest little home located on a magnificent hill overlooking Lake Clay, one of the loveliest lakes in this area of Central Florida. Now we were facing a project that both of us enjoyed, remodeling the little ”castle”, planning to add, enclose, landscape and what have you! A lot of healing is actually taking place – the children come to visit –his and mine and life seems to have taken a more placid turn- just like the name of our charming little town, Lake Placid!

1986

Living with Jim in “Bella Vista”, the little castle on top of one of the few hills, that exist in Central Florida, with the “best view in town” and acclimatizing my lifestyle to exist in a small town, so altogether different from the hustle and bustle of Big City Life! I remembered, when buying a house, always look for “location, location” and we surely found it, almost making me now, as I look back, a prisoner in my own home! Now that Jim died so suddenly in 2002, in the midst of having supper with dear friends, and I probably should, now widowed twice, have moved into a smaller, newer place with simpler maintenance, but I simply cannot part from this lovely location…I am irretrievably “stuck”!

1988

For two years, we try to adjust to a different lifestyle, make new friends, build a new addition to our little home, a new, lovely loggia and front porch and I also play a lot of Tennis, swim in Lake Clay and am actually working on my dissertation towards my Doctorate, which I had started while still in Fort Lauderdale. It turns out to be a formidable task, I am interviewing Physicians and Psychologists ( the topic of my thesis covers both subjects, it deals with Mental Imagery and Visualization to help in curing certain Life threatening Illnesses such as Cancer, Heart disease and other Imuno-neurological diseases. A formidable task, and very challenging…to say the least!

We are visited not only by our children, relatives from up North, friends from the East Coast, but also some newly made, local friends. There is a Jewish Temple in Sebring which I attend and even visit the local Presbyterian Church, having been invited by one of my Tennis buddies and find several interesting, kind people and new directions into more spiritual thoughts and beliefs.

Actually, 1988 is really a year of big happenings - I DO receive my Doctorate – (in Education, a Ed.D.)-a most exciting event, and very fulfilling, after so many years of study! But even more importantly, both my sons, Lenny and David, are married –Lenny to Paula, his long-time Love, who has two children, Angela and Micheal and I become an instant Grandma! David marries Diana and all of us survive the two lovely weddings!

1988/91
There are many visits to the new homes of my two sons, to the East coast of Florida, giving ideas and -unasked for -advice to the new couples like any mother-in-law worth her salt does (please forgive :))…
In the meantime, my beloved daughter, Julie, is working in many different, interesting jobs, mostly as a Secretary and is sharing an apartment with her best friend, Ellen, in Boca Raton. She has also, what seems to be, met her destiny, a suitor, one of her Superiors and they do get engaged. Their one year engagement is delightful and exciting, many a trip to New Jersey-her fiancé’s hometown- and even more to Las Vegas, where she is wined and dined by Bob and overwhelmed with gifts and attention during their courtship. She is completely dazzled and blinded by the High Life he seems to offer her and decides to marry him, which turned out to be an unfortunate decision.

1993

The REALLY BIG wedding of Julie and Bob in January! I showed up with a broken Elbow, which seems in retrospect a bad Omen (they were divorced a year later…), but the wedding was a fabulous dream wedding, taking place on a Yacht in Fort Lauderdale! The marriage, however, turned very soon into a dreadful nightmare. He had a gigantic drinking problem!

My own marriage seemed again to falter, when Jim becomes more and more possessive on my many absences and drives to the East coast and resented any attention I gave to my beloved family. Finally, I decide to think things over and move to Boca Raton by myself to figure things out, renting an apartment, close to my son and daughter.

After eight months alone, and many pleadings from my husband and persuasive arguments by close friends, especially my late, beloved friend Miriam Wellens , I decide to try once more and reconcile with Jim, my difficult, yet so loving and caring husband.

1993/1998

We buy a lovely Condominium in Jupiter, in a lovely Ocean front community and for the next five years shuffle weekends back and forth to the old-new homestead in Lake Placid – actually a busy, enjoyable period in my life! I also volunteer as a hostess at the Jupiter Theater and see many delightful shows with famed actors! I see my children more often, living now so much closer. By now, Lenny’s family has a new addition, little Christopher and I am enjoying lovely moments with my grandchildren, who are growing into real little people!

1998

Jim develops Shingles, a horrible illness, and we sell the Jupiter property and move back to Lake Placid, where a new swimming pool had been installed, soon to become my reason d’être, truly my lifeline!

1999

Sadly, the “Shingles” seem to affect Jim’s other physical properties and his personality also is affected to the extent, that we visit the Mayo Clinic and other Medical facilities to find certain answers and help with his condition, which is finally diagnosed as Alzheimer’s – a dire sentence for the whole family.

2000

Julie decides to join us to be of help and becomes my right arm in dealing with the situation! We try to make the best of his “unusual behavior”, but there are many precious moments, in which his difficult personality from the past turns him into a much more kindly old man, very docile, always loving and pitifully cooperative!

2002

Jim and I have joined a Tai-Chi class (anything to keep him moving and occupied). Before going to one of our classes, while watching TV –an unforgettable moment, horribly, the Twin Towers in N.Y. are attacked, unbelievable….9/11!!!

By April, before celebrating his 82nd birthday, Jim collapses while having dinner with friends, who come to visit (Teddy and Sigi Stern from Vienna) and is shortly pronounced dead, after the Ambulance is being called (911) to take him to the hospital. Sadly and in shock, we say Good by to a great Patriot, a loyal, loving, but stern and difficult man – I am losing one of my best friends and he was that if not so many more things to me…He is buried at the site of his choice – The VA Memorial Cemetery in Brooksville, (like Arlington) where his so loyal heart rests with his other buddies! His big family, the four sons and their many wives and children surround his burial site, as a twelve gun Salute is being fired!

Semper fidelis, Buddy!

2002

Adjusting to being widowed a second time –my precious daughter Julie, who has been so helpful throughout Jim’s illnesses, is again by my side. Life moves on, it is helpful, that my beloved Cousin,Walter,and his new wife, Ariane and her two sons, Florian and Horst, come to visit several times, all the way from Graz, Austria, where he now lives. Julie also gets more and more involved in our local Temple and slowly, we adjust to the new lifestyle1

2004

Walter has persuaded us to visit him and Julie and I are enjoying 4 wonderful weeks, travelling through beautiful Austria, visiting Vienna, my hometown and seeing old friends and relatives – my other Cousin Resi and husband, Hans and their family. Attending beautiful Concerts in the Royal Palace, visiting the Prater and the Riesenrad and other beautiful sites! All this does bring back so many childhood memories…good ones and bad ones…

No sooner do we unpack, we are on the go again – this time attending the wedding of my Grand nephew (Irene Clark’s son) Justin and his lovely bride, Michelle in Los Angeles. We meet another cousin, Peter Redgrove and his friend, Elliot and renew our contacts with many relations on Simon’s “side” - a wonderful experience!

While on the west coast of the U.S. we decide to visit also Cousin Hilda, who now lives in Seattle in an Assisted Living facility, a great one , and her new charming boyfriend and Tennis partner, Bill! Hilda in only 92 years old, mind you…such great genes!!!

2005

We are still in the travelling mode – this summer is spent flying to Niagara Falls to attend another wedding, this time the Grandson of my late best friend Daisy. Benjamin Goldberg. Again, we reconnect with her extended family and enjoy the elegant festivities and the beautiful place, which I had not seen for a long time!

After the wedding, we fly to Boston to visit cousin Jackie Lapidus and spend a few days in charming Cape Cod, eating fresh Lobsters, Clam chowders, fabulous Seafood dishes, gorging ourselves and enjoying Jackie and her friends!

2006

Again we are planning to join Walter and many other European relatives for a Reunion he had arranged in Vienna, but alas, this was not meant to be…After attending a lovely Birthday party for Elfrieda Colin in Lauderdale Beach, I have an unfortunate fall, ending up being hospitalized and later being overdosed and accidentally fracturing a crucial bone in my neck! The trip- at least for me- has to be cancelled and Julie refuses to go without me. David has to travel to the reunion by himself to represent our side of the family, where he takes fantastic movies, reads our messages after telling his own and it seems, after looking at the pictures, that we were –almost- present! God bless you, David! Great Job!

2007/8

I guess, travelling time is over for me now – ever since my broken neck, that won’t heal properly and forces me to wear a confounded Neck brace while riding in a car, my lifestyle has changed completely – this computer of mine becomes a very important member of my family and out of necessity I am in touch with my friends and family mostly by way of this remarkable medium…frankly, getting old is NOT for sissies, I am finding out!

…and now, summing it all up…it is 2008, the middle of the year

Looking back over my long life- I am now over 88 years young (ha!) I love to recall above all the wonderful special moments in my life. Being intrinsically an optimist, I will put all those sad, tragic happenings in my life on the back burner. I will – I must- deal with them later, when I have fortified my inner strength with all the truly, happy memories I treasure! Thank God, there are so many…

Above all, I must thank my wonderful parents for instilling in me a deep, unquestioning belief in God, the Almighty Power, that has let me survive some unbelievable hardships that came my way over the long years…Wherever their souls may have found their rest, I hope that somehow this message of deep love will reach them, a message of thanks and respect for them, which I am sending and holding forever in my heart! I wish, my beloved Mother and Father, your own life could have had a less tragic ending, which you didn’t deserve – together with all the other six millions of victims of the Holocaust!

The truly happiest years in my life, I feel, were indubitably the heavenly year of my courtship when I had met my”Soulmate”, my first husband, Simon, in Miami Beach in 1940. I still, at that time, had hopes for my parents to join me, the future looked so bright, walking with my Love proudly through the streets, enjoying the wonderful ocean I had always dreamed about in my childhood! I also had a wonderful Best friend, Daisy, whom I met in Camp Roosevelt, I had a job, and above all, we, Simon and I, had each other, we had our Health, our Youth, and looked forward to Happy Days! Truly, the Good Life…

I am also grateful for a wonderful childhood, which, even though poverty stricken was filled with memories of a caring, loving family structure of holiday gathering, visits to Grandparents, summer vacations in the lovely Austrian Piedmonts and above all, tremendously loving parents, that fortified my character and helped me to overcome many future hardships!

Let me just jump back and forth with all those good happenings that cross my mind and which I love to recall: Within my second marriage, which had so many difficult moments, there were also so many good once, especially the many wonderful trips overseas, which Jim, a retired Marine Officer, was able to arrange. To begin with, we went on our honey moon trip to Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco and also visited England to see my Cousin Joschi, who was by then in his last days. We also visited his mother, my Aunt Hermine and the rest of the family, Walter, Lucy, Julie and their families.

Other trips with Jim were, of course his beloved Hawaii where he had been stationed for a long time, then flying to Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines. I remember the many trips, with and without my two youngest children, all over the United States. We visited friends in Michigan, relatives in Chicago –the Schwimmers, Cousins of my Father and of course, crossing back and forth in good, old Florida to visit Jim’s family, especially his sister, Lovie, many, many times. These travels were delightful and there certainly are so many happy memories connected to them!

Today, I want to list those exciting wonderful places I visited in my long life, starting with the first train ride to Hungary, to stay with a friend. This marked the first time I went outside the borders of Austria, my birthplace, passport and al!

1931

Zalaeggerszeg, Hungary by train to visit a girlfriend –but I soon become homesick and had to be picked up after a week by my Aunt Rosa.

1925 -1934

My summer vacations were generally spent with my beloved Grandmother and her two unmarried, youngest daughters, my Aunts Klari and Kaethe Rosenberg. We went to the Piedmonts surrounding the Vienna Basin, the Krainerhuette in Baden b/Wien, then Kaltenleutgeben, a charming little mountain village. One summer, in 1932, was spent camping with the Jungwanderbund, on a lovely lake (Langsee) in Kaernten (Carinthia), a great experience marching through magnificent wooded territory, sleeping sometimes in hay lofts and tents! The group consisted of boys and girls, about age 12 or 13, and a few idealistic leaders in their twenties! I came back loaded with lice and scratches all over my head and body –but it was well worth it!

There also were excursions with our High school class, lead by a great, guitar playing teacher, Hanns Muellner, an inspiring personality. We took a trip through the Wachau on the Danube, stopping at Duernstein, a wonderful old Castle along the river, where the famous Richard, the Lionhearted, had been incarcerated in the middle ages.

1939

Emigration,

…after Hitler had invaded Austria on my 18th Birthday, March 11th 1938.

After bidding a heartbreaking “Good bye” to my parents, I make a short stop (8 days) in Paris to see some of my friends, who also had to leave their homeland. Paris, of course, was exciting, seeing all the magical places I had heard and read about in school. Sightseeing the Eiffel tower, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, the Left Bank, Latin Quarters and even a few innocent, little flirtations with those romantic young Frenchmen thrown in…

We embark on the Aquitania, the second largest Ship of the Cunard Line – wide eyed and excited, it was truly an adventure, which for the first three days turned into a nightmare. Seasickness is nothing to be taken lightly…but then I develop my “sea legs” and am having a fabulous time, dancing, flirting, and looking ahead to a wonderful future, that only a nineteen year old can truly dream about. I feel like a Cinderella… I arrive on April 1st in New York, to meet the branch of my father’s family, I had only heard about in the past: My darling Aunt Helen, a female carbon copy of my father, and her daughters, Cousins Judy, Marta and Hilda and their respective husbands, a new life has truly begun for the young Liesel Neumann!!!

Our Beautiful World!

I guess, this is as good a time as any to list all the wonderful places I was privileged to visit in my life, so here goes:

In Europe:

Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Minorca, Majorca, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Vatican, Kosovo, England, Scotland, Ireland

In the Far East:

Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Okinawa,

American Continent:

Most of the 50 States of the Union, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Niagara Falls, Yucatan

Africa:

Morocco,

Asia and the Middle East

Israel, Lebanon,

The Beautiful Cities:

Vienna(my home town!!!), Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Brussels Bern, Zürich, Tokyo, Taipei, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Madrid, San Juan, St.Thomas, Kingston, México City, Denver, New York, Buffalo, Boston, Cape Cod, Graz, Salzburg, Rome, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa, London, Edinburgh, Norwich, Winchester, Honolulu, Hilo, Chicago, Minneapolis, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Florence, Capri, Naples, Sorrento, Taxco, Guernavaca ,San Miguel, Kyoto, Manila, Gatlinburg , Athens,

Some of the most memorable sites:

Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, Redwood forest, The Dead Sea, Jordan River, Niagara Falls, The Western Wall in Jerusalem, The Alps, The Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range, Shenandoah Valley, The great dome of Cologne, the Milano Cathedral, Stephanskirche in Vienna, Schoenbrunn, Hofburg in Vienna, Versailles in Paris, the Louvre, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, The fabulous Amalfi Drive, The Blue Grotto in Capri , The Great Lakes, The Canadian Rockies, The Twin Towers in NYC, The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, The “Jungfrau”, Mont Blanc (we flew over it ) The Alaskan Glaciers (we also flew over them), Old Faithful in Yellow stone, Carlsbad Caverns, The black beaches on the Big Island in Hawaii , The Castles in Spain, which became delightful Hotels, The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican, Michelangelo’s Pieta, Moses, Da Vinci’s David in Florence, The Moulin Rouge in Paris, Tour Eiffel , Zocalo, Buddha in Kioto, Mount Fuji, Seminole Reservation, Indiantown, Acropolis in Athens, The Greek Island of Mykonos,

…what a wonderful, wonderful,wonderful World…

Another chapter in my Life,

My Friends:

In my childhood, there was my first Boyfriend, age 4, Erich Redinger, who lived in the same building in Baden b/Wien. A bit later, two lovely Hungarian girls, Grete and Boeszi Kuttner, daughters of my father’s best friend, Herr Buchhalter.
.He must be worth a little vignette as I will progress in my stories, a bit later…fascinating character, who looked a bit like Oliver Hardy!

Friends, I made in Grammar school, when we moved back to Vienna: Too many to mention, and I do have their little messages, so precious to me, in my “Stammbuch”!

The closest girlfriendof my teen age years, whom I remember with great affection,was Lily Probst, who sadly lost her life in the Holocaust later on!How many precious moments we spent together sharing our innermost feelings! A lovely young girl…

At age 16, a fascinating, innocent but very romantic encounter with an Egyptian Lawstudent, Kamel Fanous from Cairo gave me a true feeling of having grown up and earned me my first marriage proposal. Our secret meetings, so very special and romantic, were never divulged to my parents, who thought, they kept a very sharp eye on me and whe Kamel had to go back to Cairo and gave me a huge, expensive box o f Chocolate, I gave it quickly to Lily, my friend…how silly…

At 17, my girlfriend and I joined the now famous ballroom dancing school, “Erdstein”, where the Maestro himself conducted a delightful class of about 50 youngsters, age 16 – 19, in the waltzes, the tangos, the foxtrots, English waltz, etc.etc. Twice a week we were looking forward to meeting and dancing with all these young, handsome

* * * * * * * * * *

Elisabeth N Earle

March 11, 1920 - September 22, 2013

View the Full Online Memorial

Dr. Lisa Ruden Earle, 93 years old, passed away on September 22, 2013 comfortably at her home surrounded by her family.

She is survived by her three children – Leonard Ruden, David Ruden and Julia Ruden; four step sons – James Earle, Richard Earle, Timothy Earle and Michael Earle; her 10 grandchildren and her seven great-grandchildren.

Born in Vienna, Austria in 1920, Lisa completed high school and after living under Hitler’s regime for a year, she escaped the Nazi Holocaust and immigrated to America when she was 19, with ten dollars in her pocket and one suitcase, more books than clothes. Six months after arriving in New York she went to Ocala, FL where she attended Camp Roosevelt, an immigration camp/trade school for beauty culture and to learn English. After graduating, she moved to Miami Beach and married Simon Ruden, the love of her life. They adopted all of her children, though sadly she lost her second child, Susie, to Leukemia at the age of 4 ½.

She moved with Simon, a fledgling attorney starting his practice, from North Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale, to raise their family.

Dr. Lisa Earle sang and performed with the Miami Opera Guild for seven years, received her Bachelor’s degree for Broward Community College, and then in 1967, after 25 years of true love, Simon passed away. He was 52. Lisa was a single mother with Lenny at 15 years old and two, 2 ½ year old children, David and Julia. She started teaching at Broward Community College to earn a living to support her family. She continued her studies earning a Master’s Degree in Linguistics, teaching at BCC while working on her Doctorate.

In 1976 she married her second husband and best friend James B. Earle. Jim and Lisa moved from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Placid, FL in 1986. She car-pooled with friends over the next 10 years between Boca Raton and FAU to complete her Doctorate Degree in Education at the age of 68.

For the next 15 years she and Jim traveled extensively while keeping up their two homes, one in Lake Placid, FL and one in Jupiter, FL. Sadly, Jim passed away, also after 25 years of marriage.

Lisa loved life and truly cared about every person she met. She wanted to know your life stories and made you feel comfortable telling them to her. She remembered every story because everyone was important to her and she found life is so interesting. She encouraged so many people and truly formed a special bond with every person she encountered and especially at the Temple Israel of Highlands County.

Lisa Ruden Earle…always striving for knowledge, committed to excellence, devoted to family and friends, a spiritual giant. The light of the world is dimmer without her, and she is deeply missed.

Arrangements entrusted to:

Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home

Sebring, FL