Rebecca “Rae” Bolnick passed away quietly in her sleep on Thursday evening, September 22, at Freedom Plaza senior living center in Peoria, AZ. Rae entered this world in New York City on the first day of spring, in March 2020 and somehow timed her exit for the first day of autumn, 102½ years later.
That Rae survived at all was a minor miracle. She was born months early, in an era when premature babies typically died within a few days for lack of access to incubators. But Rae’s immigrant parents, David and Rose Schuff, heard about a “freak show” exhibit of “tiny babies” on the boardwalk at Coney Island, operated by a doctor of dubious credentials named Martin Couney. As the story goes, David and Rose wrapped tiny baby Rae in a paper bag to keep her warm and took her to Coney Island, where she spent the first months of life in one of Dr. Couney’s new-fangled incubators. Rae’s mother was allowed in free, but her father had to pay a nickel each time he visited.
When Rae was young her family moved to Detroit, where she had a happy middle-class childhood, along with her younger siblings Millie, Ben, and eventually Annette. Then in 1939, Rae met a handsome jazz pianist named Arnold Bolnick from Minneapolis, who was in Detroit visiting an aunt. They spent their first date dancing to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. They got married in April 1940.
When the war broke out, Arnie was unable to join the army because of deafness in one ear. Instead, the young couple moved to San Francisco where Arnie worked in the naval shipyards and Rae worked for the War Manpower Commission. From San Francisco they moved to Detroit and started a family as the war ended. They then moved to Chicago, before settling in Skokie, Illinois, where they were pioneers of the nascent Jewish community and founding members of the first synagogue.
To help make ends meet, Rae went to work once her first three sons were in school, landing jobs as a highly regarded executive secretary for several companies, including the pharmaceutical giant G.D. Searle. At age 60 she completed her college degree, which had been interrupted by marriage and raising four sons. In retirement, Rae and Arnie led a quiet life, enjoying family and friends, good music, playing bridge and frequent elder-hostel travels, with winters in Phoenix and Albuquerque.
After Arnie died in 2004, Rae moved to the Phoenix area, first in Sun City and finally in senior living at Freedom Plaza. At this late stage of life, she flourished as an active matriarch of two extended families – the Bolnick’s and the Schuff’s – somehow remaining in close personal touch with four generations of relatives, never forgetting a birthday or anniversary. She developed devoted friends in Sun City, at Freedom Plaza, and at her synagogue in Peoria, where she conducted her Bat Mitzva ceremony in 2020 – at age 100!
Even into her century year plus two, Rae amazed everyone by remaining totally alert, and active, participating in current events discussions and a book club, organizing and leading other discussion groups, playing bridge, attending religious services, going to shows – she especially loved opera – and even doing simple exercises at the gym twice a week. By that time, she may have been the world’s oldest surviving “preemie.”
Rae Bolnick is survived by her sister Annette, her four sons, Howard, Bruce, Ira and Mitch and four daughters-in-law, six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, dozens of other close relatives, and too many friends to count. None will forget her. As she signed off on emails: Hoo-Rae!
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Trees for Israel at the link available here on Rae's memorial page. This was her favorite charity and she made donations to mark all special occasions.
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