FRANCES WOLFE, nee Pulvermacher, age 96, of Coconut Creek, Florida, passed away peacefully on July 24th at Northwest Medical Center in Margate, Florida.
Frances was born in Pabjanice, Poland on December 24th,1924. She was a very young girl when Hitler’s armies invaded Poland. She and her mother survived years of life in the Lodz ghetto, slave labor, Bergenbelzen and Auschwitz. They were among the very few who survived those unspeakable horrors. She was a living testament to the strength of character and resilience required to be counted among the survivors of those atrocities. Francis and her mother supported each other during Hitler’s reign as well as throughout their postwar life together.
After the World War and liberation from the concentration camps, and while still in Europe, she met and married the man she was married to for 68 loving years, Joseph Wolfe. Joseph was also a Holocaust survivor. They were introduced to one another by one of Frances’s “camp sisters” who told her they have a very handsome brother — and he certainly was. Tall, dark, and handsome. They were a perfect match in their dedication to making a new life by rising above the torments of the War. Together they immigrated to the United States and shortly thereafter gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Sandra Rose. Four years later their son, Stephan Neal, was born.
Frances and Joseph settled in Boston where they struggled to find their way to success in the United States. Frances and Joseph were successful entrepreneurs as highly talented hair stylists and long time founders and owners of the Glamour Lady Salon as well as His and Hers beauty salons. Frances was actually the creative talent and driving force behind the business. Customers flocked to her and only wanted “Frances” because she was, after all, the “Glamour Lady”.
Due primarily to their hard work and Frances’s enormous talent, they purchased a lovely home in Randolph, MA and later a free standing condominium in Canton, MA. Sadly in 1986, they lost their son, Stephan Wolfe, to testicular cancer. This tragic event would be in the shadows for them until the end of their days.
Shortly thereafter, Frances and Joseph retired to Florida. For many years they were snowbirds and in their later years made the transition to year-round Florida residents, All of their sweat and toil paid off in retirement. They lived comfortably and enjoyed the pleasures of Florida’s climate and community. They went on cruises, traveled widely, and enjoyed a good life. They gave new meaning to the pronoun “we” in the closeness and support of their decades-long marriage.
Joseph passed away in 2013. Once again Frances showed the strength of her character and perseverance in establishing her independence in a totally new autonomous lifestyle. She lived independently until her passing by making many social connections and being a stealth poker and bingo player.
Frances is survived by her beloved daughter, Dr. Sandra Scantling, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCONN School of Medicine, her son-in law, Robert Cooperman, former Tufts Faculty, her granddaughter Jennifer Scantling Yagci, Assistant General Counsel at Mercedes Benz USA, her son-in-law Ali Yagci, VP of Marketing at Morgan Stanley and her two great grandchildren Morgan, age 10, and Jackson, age 8. She is also survived by her grandson, Andrew Wolfe, in pharmaceutical sales, his wife Arlene, and their 3 children, Skyler (11), Gemma (7), and Jayden (7).
The funeral and interment will be at Plymouth Rock Cemetery, Brockton, Mass on Wednesday 7/27 @2PM. Rabbi Mendel Samuels of Chabad of the Valley, Simsbury, Connecticut, will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Wolfe has requested any memorial donations be given to the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston (617) 457-8755.
The funeral and interment will be at Plymouth Rock Cemetery, Brockton, Mass on Wednesday 7/27 @2PM. Rabbi Mendel Samuels of Chabad of the Valley, Simsbury, Connecticut, will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Wolfe has requested any memorial donations be given to the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston (617) 457-8755.
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