Pearl Roth Topilow Josephs died one month short of 106 years on Monday, October 21, 2019 at Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Pearl was born on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1913. She was the youngest of seven children, her parents having been born in Galicia, Austria. She was graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, afterwards working her way to graduate from Hunter College in Manhattan.
She married Jacob Topilow, a dentist. They initially lived in Washington Heights, but later moved around to Jacob’s army duty stations during World War II. The family finally settled in Bayonne, New Jersey. They had two sons, Arthur and Carl. After Jacob’s death, Pearl taught school in Jersey City for several years. She was demanding and fair, but a very effective teacher. She remarried Mike Josephs, also from Bayonne, and acquired two stepsons. Pearl and Mike then moved to Leisure Village in Manchester, NJ, and were snowbirds in Delray Beach, Florida. After Mike’s death, Pearl moved to Seabrook. There she celebrated her 100th birthday in style with family and friends.
At both Leisure Village and Seabrook, Pearl acquired the title of the “cultured Pearl,” as she loved music and art. She most enjoyed attending the concerts of her two sons, hematologist Dr. Arthur Topilow, a pianist, and Maestro Carl Topilow, a clarinetist and conductor. For many years, she was an accomplished mah jongg and canasta player.
She is survived by her sons, their wives, four grandchildren, six great grandchildren, one stepson and his wife, and three step grandchildren. She is buried next to Jacob Topilow at the Baron Hirsch Cemetery on Staten Island.
Memorial donations in Pearl’s name can be made to the Axelrod Performing Arts Center at 100 Grant Ave, Deal, NJ 07723 or the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at 24000 Mercantile Rd, Unit 8, Cleveland, OH 44122. Pearl actively enjoyed Arthur’s and Carl’s musical careers at both of these places.
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