Albany - Bernice Blum died on June 22, 2024 at Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home, painlessly, peacefully, “head-on-pillow.”

Bernice was born Bernice (Breine) Rashkover in New York City on May 26, 1926, daughter of Sam and Fanny Rashkover.  Bernices’s parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia, working-class and dedicated to one another as family.  She was predeceased by an older brother, Sidney, who was diagnosed with Addison’s disease as an adolescent and died at age 40.

Bernice told of skipping school as a teenager to hear – and scream at – Frank Sinatra at the Paramount. Her more serious preference, however, was for Paul Robeson’s music and activism.  Robeson remained a hero throughout her long life and his “Songs of Free Men” was her favorite musical collection.

Bernice met George Fader, her first husband, when she was 17 years old and visiting Hoags Corner --  “the country”--  for a summer.  She waited tables at Totem Lodge and also met many aspiring stars, e.g., Eddie Cantor, Jerry Lewis.  Upon graduating Washington Irving High School in New York, she was offered a full scholarship to study art at the prestigious Cooper Union College. Romance and family prevailed, however, and she chose George over Cooper Union.  Bernice and George married when she was 18.  They first lived in Hoags Corner, then in Miller’s Corners; then moved to Albany, where she maintained residence even when she also lived part-time in Florida.  She gave birth to her first son of three when she was just shy of 20 years old.

Because of George’s untimely death at 43 years old, Bernice was widowed before she reached her own 40th birthday.  She supported herself and her family by working in the laboratory at the New York State Department of Health,

After living as a single mother for several years, Bernice met Seymour Blum and they married in 1972.  Bernice and Sy eventually began commuting between Albany and various Florida condominiums.  Upon Sy’s death, weeks before his 102nd birthday, she went to live with her oldest son, Larry Fader.  Her dementia had progressed, however, to the extent that she needed round-the-clock care.  She therefore became a resident in the memory unit at Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home, Albany, NY.

Bernice maintained her art almost all her life: drawing, primarily with charcoal; painting with oils and then acrylics.  Her drawings and paintings expressed her positive attitude towards life.  The paintings are colorful, often flights of fantasy and garnered many a blue and red ribbon.  Her drawings, however, often emphasized her on-going passion for social justice, her caring for people of every race and status.

Bernice Blum is survived by three biological sons: Larry Fader of Western Mass.; Robert Fader of Jericho, New York; and Sanford (Sandy) Fader of Albany.  In addition, she embraced Seymour Blum’s two daughters – Rosalie Blum and Denise Sepos – as her own.

A funeral will be held for Bernice Blum at 1620 Western Ave., Guilderland, NY at 11:00 on Tuesday, June 25.  For those who want to attend, but cannot be there in person, a Zoom meeting has been established. To join the Zoom Meeting (at 10:45 a.m.): Meeting ID: 849 9271 7004 Passcode: mM0JQ3

Link to Zoom for Bernice's Funeral

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to The Dementia Society, Inc., 188 N. Main St., Doylestown, PA  18901.