Ever present, ever formidable, ever the embodiment of many of the ideals I have incorporated into my own life. To me, you are always and forever mother, confidant, peer and friend. The priceless bond we formed in recent years has helped carry me through some of the most difficult parts of my life. I am forever indebted to you for this.

I always remember how we were able to make each other laugh. That laughter was the release we both so often needed from the daily burdens of life. When the veil is lifted from the blur of our daily toils, it becomes clear that it is precisely this journey that has made us who we are, and the workaday complaints become far less significant than realization of the good that emanated despite the struggle. We both had them, and experienced some of the same ups and downs. In this way, you were a peerless peer to me.

My eternal love to you.

And what about that time that you dreamed that you were brushing your teeth and woke up laughing hysterically because you spit all over your pillow? That's a good story. Or the funny things you'd say inadvertently, like "I did a little," or "Button your sweater better." Carl and Bobby and I still laugh uncontrollably when we recall these wonderful, natural moments of character comedy you and Dad provided for us in our growing up years.

Needless to say, I miss you terribly, Mommy, and I'd give anything to hold you in my arms and hug you again. I do hug you every night, but I'm really hugging myself; still I'm hugging that part of you which constitutes part of myself. We're cut from the same bolt. I love what Bobby wrote below this entry. It brings tears to my eyes.

We are so lucky to have each other, in whatever form.

So Happy 98th Birthday, Mommy. I can never forget you, not for any moment of any day or night. I carry you in my neural map and my cells, in my bones and in my memories, and most of all, in my heart.

Your one and only daughter, Joanie

I am two days late for the anniversary date that you transitioned to that place none of us can know until we get there.

I already posted a tribute to you on my Facebook page on the actual day, but I can never pay enough tribute to you, and also to the shared experience of a lifetime that we had.

I am ever with you as you are with me. I never doubt this for a second. Through my trials and tribulations working a full time job for the first time in my life, I have had some great triumphs along with the growing pains. Through all of this, I feel certain that it is the tenacity I inherited from you that allowed me to persevere and not allow setbacks to defeat me.

One day, in whatever form this encounter takes, I fully expect to be communing with you and Dad on the other side. We can have a few good laughs at what we have all been through and also at the human folly that lingers on the physical plane. Until then, I feel both of you with me every day of the week, every day of the year. And I am very fortunate.

My love to both you and Dad, who I feel certain you still call in to dinner when he lingers in the study.

I can never light enough candles to equal the glow of your being, dearest Gloria, mommy of my life who never leaves my side. I love you so much I can barely contain it. Recently, difficulties with my health put me in close touch with you and dad, my guardians and protectors, my gone darlings. I felt you with me every step of the way and now I'm through all the scary parts. Although with you beside me and within me, I was never really scared.

My friend Lois, who loves you so much, Mommy, came over yesterday, day of your Yahrzeit, also of her mother's Yahrzeit, and Lois's husband Charles' father, as well. We lit candles three Yahrzeit candles and performed a spontaneous ritual of commemoration, love and continuance with a Jewish tinge. I can't tell you how much in touch we felt, speaking with each of you in my little kitchen in the east village, miles away from where we lived our lives together over the course of considerable time. We have been so fortunate to have been gifted with each other. Lois and I plan to continue this ritual tradition as long as we both are able. And of course, we will always sing of you and celebrate you, as you have gifted us with your selves and your love.

Blessed mother, I will never for one moment forget you.

Joanie

Hard to imagine that her birthday passed without my comment. 5 days late, I feel compelled to say something, meaningful, hopefully, but at least observant of the day.

It is now more than a year since Gloria's passing. I choose to focus, however, on the vibrance she gives off even in her physical absence. I always think of her as a force of nature, but also a force of all that is life-affirming.

The love between us is eternal and will most probably exceed the length of my days. But for this I am grateful. Nothing ever truly disappears. It just changes form.

Happy Birthday, my dearest love. You are never away from me. You are always around me. You make me laugh, tear up, and think. I remember today how you taught me how to read when I was three years old. Throughout our lives together, we shared books. One book in particular I remember you turning me on to was Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. How apt. We are both Brooklyn girls.
Happy Birthday, dear eternal Mommy. I miss your physical presence so much.

Happy Birthday Gloria. We are certainly missing you down here. I am still wishing I was able to say goodbye. Me and the kids still laugh about some of the things you used to say and do with great joy; your memory lives on in these stories. I miss falling asleep to you playing your beautiful piano to this day. I hope you are happy and at peace, wherever you are now in the universe.

My beloved mother,
I am lonely for you. My life has less shape because of your absence, more shape because of your eternal influence on this container in which I live. The body, such a mysterious thing. Can't live without it, but can experience regardless. I feel you every day. You guide my thoughts, inhabit my expressions, hold me when I am bereft.
I miss you so much, despite the fact of your constancy. Your infectious laugh and beautiful smile. Your dry wit. Your tenderness. Your grace and love that was all-enveloping, and shared with so many. My little love.
When I was a teenager and we were going through that horrible period between daughters and mothers that I imagine most daughters and mothers do, I remember you felt so outside of the affections I lavished on my best friends. You wanted to be my best friend. I always remembered this. And when you were 93, one time as I kissed you goodnight, I told you how much I loved you and told you that you were my best friend. You got tears in your eyes and the look of love that you gave me was precious beyond words.
I love and honor you for all you were and all you still are. For the memories and scraps of paper here and there I come across, on which you wrote down your thoughts. You never kept a diary and you never thought of yourself as a writer, but you were often amazingly profound on the page. You certainly were so at the piano.
Every moment of my life is tinged with the gifts you and dad bestowed on me. As a childless woman, this is the legacy I have, that of a daughter, somehow frozen in time and perhaps a bit replete. Nonetheless, you gave me the ability to be nurturing and loving. So, nothing lost.
This page is about you and me and dad and my brothers Carl and Bobby, your sons. Our remarkable karmic unit of soulstuff travels through the universe now and in all ways. I am grateful to be a part of this family, this life, this energy. I love you so much, Mom, and cherish you every day. Whither thou goest.
Joanie

It's been a year already. Seems like yesterday. She is with me every day, my staunchest supporter, my companion along the journey of life. Not a single day goes by without my thinking about her. They are happy memories amidst the sadness of her physical absence. But she remains with me always. I am grateful to be her son and will adore her forever.

May Gloria forever rest in peace looking down at her beloved children. She was a beautiful soul.

Gloria was the best Mother and Mother In-law I have ever known.She gave me an amazing warm welcome into her Family after I married to her daughter Joanie in 1995 ,and had to relocated from Germany to join Joanie in Newyork..She is a very caring and kind personality who goes at any length to make any one comfortable. I cannot forget when the U.S , immigration services in Kentucky approved of my Visa to immigrate from Germany in 1996 and as I went to the U.S , Consulate in Frankfort Germany to obtain my already approved Visa ,the consulate started to demand unnecessary Conditions which delayed the issuance of my Visa that particular day and I then called Joanie and narrated the problem , so Joanie had called her mother Glorious and. told her what l was going through. And to my greatest surprised Gloria had written to the U .S , Consulate VISA section in Frankfurt a fax demanding them to issue me a Visa to enable me to join my wife Joanie In Newyork Cithy ,so she sent me a copy of the same letter by Fedex which I used to present to the Consulate and my Visa was given to me on to spot.
Gloria was a very powerful and influential personality and Educated that anybody who knew her testify testify.
I am with tears in my eyes while writing . Therefore, I apologize for all the mistakes I make in this writing. I miss Gloria the woman I call MOM since the passing away of my biological Mother in 2012 .My prayer is May almighty God accept the humble Soul of Gloria into eternity .May the Lord grant us her Children and I son InLaw the Fortitude to cope with the irreparable Loss..
We will miss her Charming and Charismatic attitude forever. Thanks
Godson Zosike
Son Inaw.

It's as if it were yesterday. I was present, of course, with Joanie at the moment she passed. It was very sad, of course. But she clearly expressed relief after her long struggle trying to retain her faculties.

I will always remember this moment, but what I remember far more are the countless moments of enjoyment, laughter, deep discussions, shared insights and shared feelings that come with a relationship of nearly 60 years. I also remember with pride and joy her prodigious accomplishments as a musician who filled my every day with glorious music when I was growing up.

For this I am eternally grateful.

These tributes convince me that I was always right about you, my little love. You are The Epitomommy!

Even though I never met Mama Gloria but her kindness touched many lives. She showed love and embraced those that needed comfort. May her soul rest in perfect peace and her family comforted.

I was so blessed to meet you, Gloria, mother of dear friends and creative collaborators for peace and justice, Joanie and Bobby. This site is a beautiful tribute to your life's tremendous work and spirit, which lives on in the voices, intellects, giggles, and songs of your children and all you have blessed with your music and good cheer. Rest in peace.

I loved Gloria. I met her in 1975 when she lived with her family in Los Angeles. I was friends with her daughter, Joanie. I vividly remember her playing the piano with her red lipstick on and her red hair electrifying the room. She didn't really play the piano, she commanded the piano to play through her. Gloria's family was the first Jewish family that I met (I was fresh from the Midwest :)) - and imagine my great luck to know her and Nathan and Bobby and Carl and Sophie. Gloria enriched my life by knowing her and her family. She was tough and loving all at the same time. Gloria, I send you love and to your family I send my heart and thanks for introducing me to a world class family of artists and activists.

Rest in peace, Glorious Gloria, the mother of my dear old friends Bobby & Joanie. What a happy day it was in Nov. 2015 to finally meet you.

Gloria was one of those special people who made you feel "warm all over" and valued in her presence. She always was happy, and made me happy just by being with her. Her lovely smile was only surpassed by her mass of pretty red hair! She was the epitome of a beautiful woman-- both inside and out!!! I was honored to have spent time with her.