Obituary of Edythe Kole
Obituary for Edythe Muriel Kole
Edythe Muriel Kole passed away on Tuesday morning, April 30th, following a series of health issues that took their toll during the past six months.
Edythe was born in the Bronx, New York on April 29th, 1920 to Rose and Aaron Smith. She grew up in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. Edythe met Louis Blatt in Manhattan Beach and they were married on January 4, 1942, a few weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese.
She left the safety and security of Brooklyn for the first time and accompanied her husband around the country as he was transferred to different Army Air Force bases for training and service. When Louis was deployed to the South Pacific for the duration of World War II, she returned home to Brooklyn, where she was employed in a variety of jobs.
Edythe had two children; her daughter, Arleen (Blatt) Brilliant and her son, Kenneth Stuart Blatt. She became involved in real estate sales in 1959 and attended classes at Fordham University to attain her real estate brokers license.
With her two grown children in college and graduate school, Edythe became the Social Hostess of the renowned Catskill resort hotel, Grossingers, in Liberty, New York; where she met her second husband, Shephard Kole, a New York City attorney.
They married in 1972 and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they were joined by her children, Arleen, now a school teacher and Kenny, a dentist.
In 1979, Edythe and Shephard moved to South Florida and she decided to go back to work and opened a jewelry business in Aventura, Florida.
Edythe was a wonderful homemaker, and had impeccable taste in clothes, jewelry, antiques and home furnishings. She was also an incredible cook and baker. She loved socializing and playing bridge, canasta, mah jong and poker. She loved music and the theater and had a very busy social life with friends and neighbors that adored her.
She was a devoted mother and her children’s happiness meant everything to her. She is survived by her daughter, Arleen Brilliant, her two grand daughters, Dr. Rachelle Brilliant and Dr. Amy Brilliant, her great grandchildren, Benjamin Miller and Mikella Miller, her son, Dr. Kenneth Blatt, who is currently the rabbi and cantor of Congregation Shaara Tfille in Saratoga Springs, her niece, Susie Rosenkranz and her nephew, Howard Stein.
The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 1st at the Levine Memorial Chapel 649 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12206, at 10 AM. Shiva will take place at the Brilliant residence in Niskayuna, New York, with minyan services at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, May 1st and Thursday, May 2nd, and the Friday night service will be at Congregation Agudat Achim at 6:00 PM.
Donations may be made in memory of Edythe Kole to Saratoga Hospital Foundation, Attention: Ann Carroll, 211 Church Street, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866. On-line donations can be made at: saratogahospitalfoundation.org. For directions or to leave a condolence message for the family, please visit levinememorialchapel.com
