Obituary of Anne Kaplan

Anne Kaplan Of Monticello April 20, 1921-October 2, 2012 91years old Anne Kaplan, a Monticello native who served as the first and only woman Mayor in village history, passed away on October 2, 2012 at Achieve Nursing Facility in Liberty after suffering from Alzheimer's. She was 91. The daughter of Isadore and Esther Rappaport, Anne grew up with her brothers Jack, Leo, Murray, David (Butch) and sisters Nettie and Frances (Fritzie) on the Patterson Farm in Maplewood outside of Monticello. She married Moe Kaplan and together they started Kaplan's Restaurant on Broadway in Monticello, which became perhaps the best known place to dine in the Catskills. The sign for Kaplan's lit up the sky for miles in all directions and in summer the lines were often out the door, day and night. The walls of Kaplan's were lined with banners from hundreds of colleges and universities, each one garnering a salami for the person who brought it in. An astute businesswoman who managed the restaurant for more than three decades, Anne turned her interest to politics in the 1970s, first running successfully for Trustee of the Monticello Village Board. She then ran for and was elected Mayor in 1973 which generated widespread press coverage and public attention. She also became active in state Democratic politics. In politics, business and her personal life, Anne was a strong and early proponent of racial equality. In later years after the restaurant was sold, Anne moved to Houston to be near her daughter Susan and granddaughter Tracy Jordana. She later retired to Las Vegas. In recent years, she returned to her home area for summers and then year round staying in the home of Gloria and Wilbur Whitehead. The family wishes to thank Gloria for providing Anne with loving care and abiding friendship for many years and the Achieve and Catskill Regional Medical Center staff for all their care and courtesies. Anne is survived by brothers Murray Rappaport and his wife Phyllis, David Rappaport and sister Nettie Salzman, daughters Susan Glick-Franzheim and Ina (Anya) Gershfield and her husband Burton, grandchildren Jordana Glick-Franzheim, Ace Gershfield and Lumina Gershfield Cordova and her husband Rene and great-grandson Georgio Cordova. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. She was predeceased by daughter Esther Kaplan and grandchild Richard Glick. A funeral service will be held at 11 am on Friday, October 5, 2012 at Garlick Funeral Home, 388 Broadway, Monticello with burial afterwards at Landfield Avenue Synagogue Cemetery on Thompsonville Road in Monticello. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home of Monticello.