Judith was born 3/30/27, the first child of Dr. Nathan Kaplan, DDS and Anna Kaplan.  She was raised in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.  She was raised in a Jewishly observant household with a father who regularly attend synagogue and was often President of his Conservative Congregation and a mother who kept kosher.  She had a preivileged childhood because her father made a good living, being too young to enlist in WWI, too old for WWII and didn't lose much money in the Stock Market Crash.  They had a live-in maid,, but Judy wasn't sheltered.  Her grandmother Sarah Kaplan, was a janitress who cleaned people's homes to put her son through NYU Dental School.  Later her maternal graandmother, Sylvia Zelnigher was widowed and came to live with my grandparents.

Judith was a caring older sister to my late Aunt Irma who was born 3/6/34.  Mom told me that she felt jealous when Irma was born because she was such an angelic looking baby with blonde curls and blue eyes and visitors coming to see the new baby almost walked by the 7 year Judy with her straight brown braided hair with no more than a "Hello Judy".  Mom's feelings were a but hurt by this omission.  Irma predeceased my Mother by 8 years, May She Rest in Peace.

Mom had attended Elementary School at Avenue D & E. 49th Street and then went on to Tilden High School.  Being athletic, she joined the swim team.  It was here that she became inspired to become an Art teacher and applied to the Tyler School of the Arts of Temple University right outside Philadelphia for College.

Both our grandmothers, Florence Gambert and Anna Kaplan played cards with the same group of ladies and in particular with one named May Levine.  May suggested to Flo that her handsome son Herb, a language teacher phone Judy, Anna's daughter, the aspiring art teacher for a date.  The rest, as they say, is history...

They became engaged in 1946 and married July 1, 1948.  They spent their Wedding Night at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan and honeymooned at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec.  My father bought a book as a souvenir of the honeymoon, a French book he dedicated to my mother and which I now have, since I speak French.

1951 was a special year for my parents.  Bill,  my brother was borm March 7th and 2 months later with the help of a G.I. loan, my parents moved from Lenox Road into 1724 Madison Place in Marine Park.  It was a lovely home with a yard, garage, and 3 bedrooms.  They spent many happy years there, fixing up and furnishing this house, making it a home for all of us and living life in it.  I came along in January of 1959 and Mom told me it was like having a first child all over again because it had been so long since she'd cared for a new baby.