Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, z"l
From Shane Baker. We have lost our most prolific Yiddish songwriter and a warm, wonderful, person. Details to come:
"Beyle Gottesman passed away today. Funeral this Sunday, Dec 1st, 2013 at Plaza, 91st & Amsterdam, noon"
Rokhl Kafrissen has posted a remembrance of Beyle on her blog.
Daughter-in-law Emily Socolov published a tribute in the Forward, "A Poet's Life Spanning Shtetl and Subway" on Dec 3, 2013.
"Few of us will lead a life as full as my "shviger" (mother-in-law), Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: a life that spanned an ocean with an unremitting creative urge and a sense of personal purpose that encompassed a universe. While it may appear that her tragedies outweighed her joys, she dazzled the world with her accomplishments and was always anticipating her next one. Fiercely independent, Beyle was not to be trifled with. Up until the end, she demanded to be heard, to be addressed personally, and to communicate in the Yiddish language she so fiercely advocated. She was loyal to the Bronx, to her home, and to her family, and never stopped working with a pen in hand, a pen that could either write a Yiddish poem or sketch a scene on the street….