Edith Rose

BIOGRAPHY

Rose was born in Newark, New Jersey, USA, on 10 December 1910. She was the fifth of eight children born to parents Hyman Hodes (1876–1948) and Fanny Mintz (1883–1957), both of whom emigrated from Russian Empire (present-day Belarus) to the United States in 1903. Her siblings were: Lena Silver, William, Irving, George, Pearl Appel, Viola Meskin and Frank Raymond. The family lived on Baldwin Street, not far from the synagogue on High Street. Her father went into the seltzer business, initially making deliveries with a horse-drawn wagon, and later owned his own factory.

In 1938, she married attorney Joseph P. Rose. The couple had three children: Marc, Joan and Charles.

In 1971, after retiring, the couple moved to Brick Township. Upon her husband’s death in 2002, she settled in Winchester Gardens senior living community in Maplewood. At the age of 103, she underwent gallbladder surgery.

Four of her siblings died in their 90s, while her older brother, George, died in 2012 at the age of 104.

Although she used December 10 as her date of birth — and this was the date on her parents’ naturalization papers, some grammar school records indicated how she was actually born on August 15. However, her niece Carol Hodes believes how Edith’s mother “wasn’t going to wait an extra year to enroll her in school so she gave her an August birthday.”

Rose passed away at Winchester Gardens in Maplewood, New Jersey, USA, on 11 January 2022 at the age of 111. She was survived by her two children, four grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.