Florence Grossberg

Florence Greenbaum was born in the Bronx on the first day of summer in 1923. Ninety-seven years later she still retained a sunny disposition, positive attitude and the unique ability to make people feel loved and valued just with her warm smile and endearing personal questions.

Florence graduated Hunter College with a BA and found her true calling in nursing. She joined the United States Cadet Nurse Corps in 1944, received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from New York University Bellevue School of Nursing in 1946, RN in 1947, was awarded Honorable Mention for Excellence in Nursing Practice and later went on to her Master of Nursing Education from Columbia University Teachers College.

After a successful career in hospital and clinic nursing, she became certified to teach health and nursing at Walton High School in the Bronx where she taught for 20 years. Her skills in teaching were lauded, but even more appreciated was her talent for mentoring and encouraging these young students to participate, engage, and work hard towards health careers, especially nursing. She started lessons by writing in large letters on the board—SMILE-- and she motivated students by listening to their challenges, helping with solutions, and telling them “You can do it!” One of her former students said: "Mrs. Grossberg is the best teacher I ever had and that includes everything through Law School!"  Some relatives have called her a “force of nature” or noted “her smile is like sunshine” and one of her assisted living professional staff remarked that “she is the most positive person I ever met!”

She met her future husband Jules at a Hunter college dance when she was 17 and she could never forget his blue eyes, handsome face, and soft-spoken intellect. Their romance gradually blossomed until Jules joined the army in 1942. She saved all 366 letters he had written during his time away, many of them filled with romantic entreaties to get engaged and start a family. After the war they married in 1946 and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in Madison on September 8, 2016. During their years in New York City they lived in the same apartment building for 40 years, raised two sons, and happily retired on the same day in 1986. They were delighted to relocate to sunny Delray Beach, Florida where they enjoyed what they called the “best 22 years” of their lives.  They then moved due to increasing health problems, first to Rockville, MD in 2008 close to their son David and his wife Karen, and then to Madison in 2014 near their son Paul and his husband Dean.

In these later years Florence encountered innumerable health professionals and caregivers and never forgot her teaching and mentoring successes: she’d routinely ask about credentials and motivation and encourage them to go on to more advanced degrees, especially in nursing. She wanted to teach everyone to knit or crochet and could never have enough yarns around her. And in making the world a better place she strongly believed in women’s rights and equality, and the obligation of everyone to vote and be heard. She was eager to vote in the upcoming presidential election and she expects anyone reading this to vote and encourage everyone around them to help get people to the polls or get absentee ballots and make a difference!

Florence is survived by two sons, Dr. Paul (Dean Ziemke) Grossberg, Madison, WI and Dr. David (Karen) Grossberg, Potomac, MD; sisters-in-law Clara Elkoff, New York, NY and Hilde Month, Lancaster, PA; brother-in-law Jim Macdonald, Chicago, IL; grandchildren, Sean (Jaime Bell) Grossberg, Chicago, IL, Sam (BiBi Khalsa) Grossberg, Boulder, CO, Hannah Grossberg, Minneapolis, MN, and Jacob Ziemke, Groningen, Netherlands, and nephews, nieces and cousins.

Preceded in death by her husband, Jules; parents, Samuel and Bertha Greenbaum; stepmother Sally Greenbaum; sisters Muriel Kurtzman and Judy Macdonald.

Following her excellent care at Sage Meadow Assisted Living along with Agrace Hospice Care for 8 weeks, Florence passed away peacefully surrounded by family on September 3, 2020 in Middleton, WI. There will be a small graveside funeral service at Eternal Light Cemetery in Boynton Beach, Florida on September 8 ^th and a private Temple Beth El, Madison shivah service via Zoom on September 9 ^th .

Memorial Contributions may be made to:

Florence Grossberg Scholarship Fund, University of Wisconsin Foundation,School of Nursing Annual Fund 112641280 in memory of Florence Grossberg https://secure.supportuw.org/give/ ;

Hunter College-Bellevue School of Nursing Fund https://hunter.cuny.edu/give/ ;

Scholarship and Welfare Fund of the Alumni Association of Hunter College https://scholarshipandwelfarefundhuntercollege.org ;

New York City Fund for Public Schools www.fundforpublicschools.org/donate ;

Jewish Social Services, Madison WI https://www.jssmadison.org ;

or the charity of your choice.