Betty Garfield

Passed away on October 31,

2018 in Jupiter, Florida at the age of 98 1/2. Born in the parlor of the Brodsky family home on 5101 Wynnefield Avenue, in Philadelphia, on February

26, 1920, Betty was the only daughter among three brothers, Isadore, Milton and Harold Brodsky. Betty’s father, Bernard (Ben) Brodsky, was an owner of Philadelphia Hide Company, a Philadelphia leather tannery, and was known for his quick wit, dapper wardrobe and social consciousness. He was a founder of Har Zion Synagogue, a block and a half from the family home, and was a founding member of Green Valley Country Club. The family was always amused to hear Betty’s stories of being transported to the William B. Mann Elementary School in a chauffeur driven Pierce Arrow Touring Car with the family Great Dane sitting next to the driver in the open air front seat. After finishing at the Mann School, where at 6 feet tall 12 years old Betty towered over the principal, Betty continued at Bieber Junior High School and then Overbrook High School. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941 (almost Phi Beta Kappa as Betty used to say) she married Norman P. Garfield on June 29, 1941 in a steamy ballroom at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. Betty spent the war years with Norman at Camp Crowder, Missouri where he was a Sargent in the Signal Corp. After the war, Betty and Norman lived in Forest Hills , NY for a number of years where Norman ran Baring Smelting and Refining Company, the Manhattan branch of the family business, before returning to Philadelphia and residing first at the Upsal Gardens Apartments and then moving to 522 Arbutus Street in West Mt. Airy in 1953. Betty gave birth to her only child, Matt Garfield, on February 10, 1948 and during the 50’s was a homemaker and a loving and attentive daughter to her mother, Ida Brodsky. In the late

60’s and early 70’s worked for 15 years as a bookkeeper for Schaeffer and De Souza, a wallpaper company, to help pay for Matt’s college education. She was always supportive of her husband Norman’s role as first a partner and then the President of Garfield Refining Company, a 125 year old company which has operated in Philadelphia since 1929. Matt Garfield is now the third generation Chief Executive Officer of the long lived precious metal refinery. For many years, Betty and Norman were members of Rodeph Shalom Synagogue and Meadowlands Country Club.

Betty and Norman moved to Florida in the late 70’s and resided at 2000 S. Ocean Blvd. in Boca Raton where Norman died in 1986 and where Betty lived until September, 2017. In both Philadelphia and Florida, Betty was an avid but terrible golfer and avid and wonderful bridge player. For the last 5 years of Betty’s life, her chief care giver was Simon Shirley, who in his youth was a Royal Footman at Buckingham Palace and in service to Queen Elizabeth. As Royal Nursery Footman, Simon taught the young Diana the ways of Royal life and rode on her carriage at her wedding to Prince Charles. Simon always said he had the distinct honor to serve two queens!

Betty’s son Matt said, “My mom was a true lady in every sense of the word. She taught me the essential values of being a good and decent human being and was an extraordinary role model in the art of making and nurturing friendships. She had a moral compass second to none, pursued life with singleminded energy and purpose and maintained constant contact with her vast array of loved family and friends. In her long life, there were very few birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs or condolence calls that Betty failed to acknowledge and honor for, quite simply, Betty always strived to do the “right thing” with her typical optimistic cheerfulness and good will.”

Betty Brodsky Garfield is survived by her son, Matt Garfield, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, her daughter in law, Marie Garfield, of Philadelphia, PA, her granddaughter, Jamie Garfield Drew (husband James), of Brooklyn, NY, Sallie Garfield Parks (husband Nathaniel) of Philadelphia, PA and great grandchildren, Harrison Drew, Maxwell Drew, Celia Parks and Wesley Parks. The funeral will be on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at Temple Shalom in Broomall, PA at 11:00 AM. The ashes will be interred privately at a later date. Family and friends will gather for Shiva at the home of Matt Garfield, 510 Cambridge Rd., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004. There will be a Minion Service at 7:30 PM. Contributions may be made to the Garfield Centre for the Arts., 210 High Street, Chestertown, Md. 21620.

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