Helené Rambow Stern Parsons 1909-1985

It has been over twenty five years since my mom died. She was not my Ideal Mother. In many ways, she was a very unhappy person and that often made her a difficult person to be around. But, I miss her. I miss her sense of style. I miss her sense of humor and her curiosity.

She was born and grew up in Oakland where she went to school until she was 16. Then her family said something along the lines of You are sixteen now, Goodbye (all the more remarkable because her father, my grandfather, considered himself an intellectual).

She became an adult quickly, was married at 17 and divorced soon after, married and divorced again, and married my dad in 1939. Sometime during that period, my mom worked as a model at Ransohoff’s.

I don’t think that life was ever easy for my mom but she always had a sense of style. Happy Mother’s Day!