Helen Antman

Whenever Helen Antman, who died on July 21 at the age of 104, was asked for advice from her long life, she'd say, "Be sure to have a little fun every day." She pursued that goal through all of life's challenges with strength and remarkable resiliency. Among her happiest times were being on stage with her husband Bernie in their Chicago temple's player's group and in the choir at KKBE. Her parents, Sadie and Philip Novick were Russian immigrants to New York. Sadie loved to sing and dance and taught Helen many colorful Yiddish songs and phrases. Despite the obstacles to female professionals, she forged a successful career selling yellow page advertising but would dash home to make lunch everyday for her two boys, Mark and Jeff, when they were in grade school. She loved working and looked for a job until she was 100 years old. Helen and Bernie retired to Charleston and used it as their home base to travel. They especially enjoyed visiting Europe and Israel. As the family grew to include grands, great-grands and in-laws it was her greatest joy to whip up one of her legendary noodle kugels and gather everyone around the table. Her brisket recipe is a family heirloom. Her long life spanned the history of the country: She saw women being given the right to vote and she proudly made calls for Hillary Clinton. Helen is survived by her sons Jeffrey Antman (Judith), Mark Antman (Carol), grandchildren Philip Antman, Natanya O'Donnell (Lake), Lena Quinonez (Ruben), great granddaughters Lana and Emilia O'Donnell, nieces Debby Gross and Jillian Torres and in-laws Lila, Bob, Hanna and Andrew (obm) Trussler. A graveside funeral for just the family will take place Thursday, July 23, 2020 and a Zoom memorial on Sunday, July 26, 2020. To honor Helen, donations can be made to Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim's music fund. Or dedicate a moment of fun to her memory.