Obituary of Miriam Meyerhof

My mother, Miriam Meyerhof, passed away peacefully this morning, June 13, 2015 at 2 am. I was able to be with her a few hours before she was gone. She was born on April 29, 1921-exactly one year before my father Walter who was born on April 29, 1922. They knew each other as children as their parents were friends and belonged to the same Philosophical group in Germany. They were married for 59 years. My mother's father was an eye doctor who worked for the army during World War I. He was hit in face with mustard gas and never really recovered. He passed away when my mother was 3 years old. So she, as an only child, was brought up by her mother, Margaret Ruben. Margaret Ruben, known to us as Omi, was one of the first child psychiatrists in Los Angeles, starting in 1947. She was a close colleague of Anna Freud. My mother lived in an apartment in Berlin-studying to be a nursery school teacher. Then one day in November, 1938 the young men living next door told her, "Don't go out tonight." It was Kristallnacht-Night of the Broken Glass- when the Nazis attacked every Jewish person on the street and smashed the windows of every Jewish business, home, and school. My mother was able to get on the Kindertransport to England where she attended the Stoatley-Rough boarding school. After 2 years she was reunited with her mother and worked in Anna Freud's Nursery in London throughout World War II. My mother was an amazing, kind and generous woman who cared deeply about her family and the world around her. She always gave touched the hearts of every one she met. Here is my poem to my mother: My Mother By David Meyerhof As the glass shattered, Lives were scattered. Survive is what mattered Even with souls battered. She was seventeen. It was time to leave. The list of what she could take- Fill one suitcase-make no mistake. The boat of life To escape the strife, To begin anew With so much to do. 77 years have passed. The memories will always last. We must strive To keep alive All we have learned, all we know And teach the world how to grow. Our words must carry weight To proclaim our fate. So let us all do our part, And give our hearts To the people.




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