Eileen Kates' Obituary
Eileen P. Kates, (nee Pozanek) age 90 of West Palm, FL passed away on January 21, 2023. Her beloved husband Alvin of 70 years predeceased her in 2021. Eileen is survived by two daughters a son, two grandchildren and one great grandchild. Daughter Bonnie Kates (Mary Edna Harrell), daughter Sherry English, son Louis Kates (Sharon), Sherry’s children Adam English and Julie (Michel) Bisson, and great-grandchild Julian Bisson.
Eileen, the daughter of the late Jean(nee Familant) and Maurice Pozanek of Baltimore, Md, was predeceased by her beloved brother Larry Pozanek ,sister and brother-in- law Ruth and Manfred Mann, her beloved Aunt Lil and Uncle Sam Kesler, numerous other aunts and uncles from the Pozanek, Familant, Berman, Blumenthal,Klaff ,Kates and Brownstein families and is survived by nephews Louis Mann (Marge) Jeffrey Mann (Viola) , sister-in-law Beth Pozanek, niece Jody Pozanek, nephew Keith Pozanek, and many great nieces and great nephews. She is also survived by cousins, Leslie Milstead (nee Pozanek)(Larry) and Marla Roth(nee Pozanek) (Frank) Larry Familant,(Candy) Joseph Familant, Harold Familant and many members of the Familant, Blumenthal families (Annette Cooper (nee Brownstein)(Joseph) Marvin Brownstein and many friends from hers and Alvin’s Marriage Encounter Group in Nashua NH, and neighbors in West Palm Beach.
A chapel service will be held on Tuesday, beginning at 9:30 am Beth Israel Memorial Chapel, Boynton Beach, FL. Burial at Eternal Light Memorial Gardens, Boynton Beach, Florida.
Children Louis, Sherry, and Bonnie remember growing up supported and loved by enough aunts, uncles and cousins to fill a stadium and provide supporting roles to any number of comedy movies, as in Woody Allen, Barry Levinson, etc. There was never a dull moment, and if it wasn’t family it was friends who were as close as family. It was quite the education and the memories can fill several books.
Countless large family gatherings, weddings, bar& bat mitzvahs, holiday meals all provide the backdrop for the wonderful life and memories Eileen and Alvin created, nourished and lovingly bestowed on their family who will bestow it on theirs.
Alvin and Eileen got introduced after Alvin’s best friend brought Eileen home after her curfew and Eileen’s father threw him out of the house. His buddy introduced Dad to Mom, his watch worked, but he had a Johnny Cash car built from pieces of many different wrecks from local junkyards. The floorboards were rusted through, and after one rainy date when her skirts got muddied her parents wanted to know what kind of car he drove.
Dad’s cars got better, he and mom were married as youngsters, she was only 18, & Uncle Sam came calling for Dad, it was Korea. Dad went into the Navy and he and Mom had three children in the next eight years, built a boat in the backyard of a Baltimore row house, graduated night school, and moved the family from Baltimore to Nashua, NH.
Mom’s mother Jean wrote her postcards daily for the first ten years, then eventually slowed to weekly, but the phone company’s wires were buzzing between Baltimore and Nashua.
In later years, Eileen wore tracks between Nashua and Baltimore as her parents failed. History repeated itself many years later with tracks worn to her and Dad from Bonnie, Sherry and Louis.
In Nashua, they were active in the congregation of Temple Beth Abraham as well as a Marriage Encounter group. From these associations, they made and sustained friendships for the next forty plus years. Dad eventually retired as a Raytheon Engineer, then he and Mom began a new chapter in West Palm Beach. Throughout all of their moves, meetings and family gatherings Eileen and Alvin never let their children forget where they came from, how they got here, and what values to hold dear.
Each of their family trees was large enough Henry L. Gates would have a nervous breakdown drawing them and trying to explain them.
Dad’s was big, Mom’s was gigantic, but Aunt Fritzie Pozanek could quote who begat whom and when.
One of Mom’s aunts, Deena Familant was the only member of her family of eight to escape the Holocaust, come to America, marry, became a teacher, raised 3 sons with 7 degrees between them and left many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Mom’s brother in law Manny was sent to America as a young child just before the War, and he worked tirelessly to buy passage for three brothers, a sister, and his father, before losing his mother to the Holocaust, then he went off to war and served in the jungles of New Guinea. His two sons Louis and Jeffrey, and daughter-in-law Marge and Vi enjoy sports and have many children and grandchildren between them, and share their father’s sense of humor and love of family.
These are all remarkable individuals who instead of becoming bitter left a legacy of light, life, family commitment, and hard work. Quite the legacy, and more valuable than gold.
Eileen’s father Maurice and his brother Matthew grew up outside of Montreal, just before WWI, their father was running a shoe factory, he had to uproot them to avoid the Canadian draft. Maurice tried to enlist in the Amy at 15, but was found out & sent home to join the Merchant Marine, marry Jean, and then terrorize Mom’s boyfriend so she could marry Dad.
Eileen and Alvin didn’t shelter their children, they taught them how hard life can be, but they encouraged them to seek light rather than darkness, to remember everyone’s humanity, and understand that it takes great strength to love, the nice guy wins the race before it even starts, and that it takes more strength to be kind and loving than otherwise.
Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are following in their footsteps, and passing their legacy onto a new generation- education, kindness, strength of character, family and friends, hard work and love of country.
Not a bad life, move over Jimmy Stewart. Well done Mom and give Dad a hug from all of us.
What’s your fondest memory of Eileen?
What’s a lesson you learned from Eileen?
Share a story where Eileen's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Eileen you’ll never forget.
How did Eileen make you smile?
