My Little Sister
shared by Sheryl Effron Rose on 8th May 2019
Rosann is my little sister. She was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN where she lived with her father, Raymond; her mother, Fannie; and me. She was a cute, happy, and loving child. She always loved animals and enjoyed playing with the many cats we had. We spent a lot of times outdoors, playing in the woods and stream behind her house, digging in the dirt, and picking flowers and leaves. We often went barefoot outside and our northern (Ohio) cousins teased us unmercifully about this. We always wanted an older brother and often pretended we had one. She especially liked the jungle gym and playhouse that our father built one summer when we were in Columbus, OH visiting our grandparents. For many summers, our father drove us to Columbus where we visited our grandparents and many cousins. One favorite cousins game was to turn off the lights and all pile onto the bed in one of bedrooms of our grandparents house. We sometimes visited our grandparents at Passover and Chanukah, too. Other family trips included one to the Smoky Mountains, where our father made a fire and cooked breakfast outdoors, and another to Cumberland State Park, where we hiked and swam. We also visited Barbourville, KY where our aunt had a summer house on a lake (Swan Pond). We hiked, swam, and fished. The house had bunk beds which we both loved sleeping in. Most Jewish holidays and Thanksgivings were spend with our father’s sister and husband, Bertha and Abe Borisky. She especially liked Aunt Bertha’s duck and was enamoured with their rock and geode collection which was passed down to her. Rosann inherited her love of the outdoors from her father. We spent many fall Sundays with him hiking in the mountains around Chattanooga. On one such hike with our family friends, the Silversteins, we were very late getting back because their dog would not cross a ledge. Summer Sundays and Wednesday afternoons were spent swimming at Lake Chickamauga and the Tennessee River. Rosann loved to climb on the rocks at the dam and inspect the insects we found on the ground. Trips to the river usually included picking wild blackberries and chiggers! Starting in seventh grade, Rosann went to Girls Preparatory School, a private girls school in Chattanooga. She was an honor student and was very popular. She was a Sweetheart at both of the two boys military schools and was active in clubs at the Jewish Community Center. She attended Oxford College of Emory University for two years. After graduation, she moved to Atlanta where she worked in a bank and for a printing company. She fell in love with her future husband, David Blumberg, at Bill Brenner’s wedding. It was love at first sight (although she had met him previously when he attended boarding school in Chattanooga). She moved to Florida to be with David and they married shortly afterwards. After he finished law school, Rosann and David bought property in Tennessee which they named Cat Holler. They had a honey business and Rosann made honeycomb candles. She was a perfectionist and her candles were far superior in quality to those normally found. Due to her good business sense, her candle business thrived; she sold candles all over the country. She loved gardening and raised most of their own food. She became interested in healthy nutrition, implemented organic gardening techniques and cooked wonderful vegan meals. Her two children, Tate and Life were born at Cat Holler and had free reign of the surrounding woods. Rosann home schooled them and they helped with the garden and honey business. She was devoted to her children and tried to give them the experiences they wanted. When Life wanted to learn Hebrew, she drove to Jackson, TN so she could have lessons. When Life and Tate got interested in hunting, she gave up veganism (sorta) and ate the meat they brought home. After her divorce, she moved briefly to Barbourville, KY and then finally settled in Berea, where she was a licensed massage therapist. We were not the closest of sisters, but I am so thankful for the time we spent together before she died. I love her very much and will miss her.