Gertrude Lewis

LEWIS: Gertrude Lewis, formerly of Westfield, New Jersey, and Estero, Florida, died after a long illness. She was 96 years old and had lived at Stein Assisted Living in Somerset for the last nine years. Gertrude was the youngest child of Theodore C. Jay and Lillian Greenbaum Jay. She was born in South Orange, New Jersey, and was delivered literally on the kitchen table by her grandfather Dr. Solomon Greenbaum, one of the founding doctors of Beth Israel Hospital in Newark. She graduated from Columbia High School, attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated from Rutgers with a degree in business administration. In 1950, Gert married Edward Lewis. They were married until his death in 2010. They enjoyed many years of happy travels all over the world. Gert was a stay-at-home mother for 10 years while raising daughters Ellen, Karen and Nancy. During that time, she did volunteer work as a Brownie leader and in the Sisterhood at Temple Emanu-El. In the early 1960s, she entered a Ford Foundation program for Retraining in Mathematics for College Women. She became a computer programmer and eventually retired as deputy associate director of the Computer Center on the Rutgers main campus. Gert began researching family history back in the 1970s and after retiring, she purchased a computer and enrolled in a genealogy class at Edison Community College in Fort Myers, Florida. Her research resulted in three self-published “Family Saga” books, of which she was quite proud. Gert and Ed were snowbirds for 20 years, spending half the year in Estero, Florida, and the other half down the Jersey shore. They were proud grandparents of Gideon (Carol), Micah (Sydnie), Nathan, Noah (Vina), Rebecca and Zachary (Courtney). Gert was blessed with seven great-grandchildren, Solomon, Theodor, Orley, Evie, Aurelia, Gemma and Charlotte. In addition to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she leaves behind her daughters, (Rabbi) Ellen Lewis, Karen Levin and Nancy Golden (Fred). She was predeceased by her brother Theodore Jay Jr. and her sister Kaki Levin. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made in Gert’s memory to the Levin family memorial fund at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh PA, 15217. PJC