Gloria Plann Popok

A proud Jewish woman and a daughter of Brooklyn, Gloria was a graduate of James Madison High School and attended NYU. She was a spirited camper at Camp Che-Na-Wah, where she fondly shared a bunk with one of her favorite people — Ruth Bader (later Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Gloria lived her life with joy, strength, and purpose, embodying the very essence of “chai” — life — a number symbolically connected to the 18th, the day she passed.

Gloria loved to read, to travel — especially to London, Italy, and Israel with her son Michael — and to explore the world through art and design. She sketched portraits over coffee, designed her own jewelry, and found beauty and meaning in everyday moments. She lived with a luminous spirit that never dimmed, even when life tried to slow her down.

She was a devoted mother to Michael Popok and Karen Burke, a beloved mother-in-law and mentor to Natallia Popok and Tamana Burke, a guiding light to her grandchildren Benjamin Burke and Francesca Popok— who carries her Hebrew name, Gittel — and a proud great-grandmother to Liam and Lincoln Burke. Her love, wisdom, and presence shaped the lives of all who knew her.

Gloria was the unshakable rock of her family. She will be remembered not only for her strength and creativity, but for the boundless love she gave so freely. Her memory is a blessing and will continue to bring comfort and inspiration to all who were fortunate to share in her extraordinary life. Her hand will always be in ours.

Funeral services will held graveside at 1pm on Tuesday, May 20th at the Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery, 2298 West Bangs Avenue, Neptune City, NJ. Shiva observance will be at the home of Michael and Natallia Popok, 5601 Maggiore St, Coral Gables, FL 33146, beginning 5-8pm on Thursday, May 22nd and concluding Friday May 23rd from 5-8pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in the name of Gloria to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration through their website: www.theaftd.org