On August 17,2022, Rose Pauline Lerner, widow of Charles Lerner (deceased). adoring mother of Nadine Smith (deceased), and Iris Graf, loving grandmother of four and great grandmother of three, went to her eternal rest in Kingwood, Texas.
Rose Pauline Lerner, born Rose Pauline Slavin, was born on February 16,1921 in New York City to Rebecca Chasin Slavin and Nathan Slavin. Her parents were immigrants from Belorus who had come to the United States in the year 1913. She was the eldest of three sisters. Martha was born in 1922 and Evelyn was born in 1924.
At some point the family relocated to The Bronx from Manhattan. They were very poor and the situation got worse when their father who had worked as a tailor, died when Rose was only 15. Rose began working at a young age. In high school she studied typing and stenography. She worked as a secretary for many years.
She married Abraham David Marcus in 1941. In 1942 their first child, Nadine Susan Marcus, was born. In 1951 their second child, Iris Joy Marcus Graf was born. Rose was a very devoted and loving mother and she was very attached to her own mother who passed away in 1955. Rose took comfort in the fact that her dear sister Martha lived close by. The two families were very close.
She worked past the age of 65, always striving to provide additional income to her family. After a divorce from her first husband, she married Charles Lerner in 1966. She met Charles at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. They danced their way into 47 years of marital contentment. They lived first in Bayside, Queens, New York but in 1977 they relocated to Century Village in Deerfield Beach, Florida where they had lots of friends and wonderful activities. Rose visited the club house often for exercise classes and in the evenings there were shows of all kinds to entertain them. Their children from their previous marriages visited often.
Eventually things deteriorated as Rose and Charles grew older. Many of their friends had died and they were having all kinds of physical problems. Rose had to have a partial hip replacement after a bad fall. It was decided in 2011 that Rose would go to live with her daughter Iris and Iris’s husband Tom.
In her final eleven years of life, Rose really got to experience many wonderful things. At age 98 she got her first passport when she went on a cruise to Mexico. She always dreamt of going to Las Vegas and she finally got the chance in 2019. After that she went to Los Angeles where she visited family and had the time of her life. Back in Houston, she went to ballet performances, Broadway shows, saw Dancing With The Stars live and was pampered at hair and nail salons on a weekly basis.
Thanks to the excellent care she received and to her indomitable spirit she managed to live to the age of 101 ½. Though her family is grateful for all those happy years, they still feel that she went too soon. She will be in our hearts forever.
She is survived by her daughter Iris and her grandchildren, Craig Smith, Lisa Tate, Meredith Graf Michaud and Becky Graf and her great grandchildren Shannon Smith, Jenna Tate and Jasen Tate. Her step-daughters, Naomi Lerner and Melanie Salas, and nieces and nephews adored her as well and will sorely miss her.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kingwoodfuneralhome.com for the Lerner family.
