Obituary of Laura Solomon
Kiamesha Lake, NY
It is with great sadness to announce that Laura Solomon, my wonderful mom, and my best friend passed away on January 30, 2023, with me by her side.
Laura was born in Brooklyn and spent her childhood living in Rockaway, Queens. She often told me about growing up near the beach and how much she enjoyed roller skating and bicycling on the boardwalk.
After the second world war, she met my father, Martin Solomon who passed away in 2003. They soon married and lived on 12th Street in Manhattan. I was born in 1950 and my brother, Larry, who passed away in 2012, come into the world in 1952. Now with the need for larger living space, they moved to Levittown and eventually settled in Syosset on Long Island where Larry and I went to high school.
Mom and I had a unique bond. We had mental telepathy and often laugh as we mentioned a subject that the other was just thinking about. That bond was forged at my birth when I had a rare problem with my sternum. Despite having a limited income, mom and dad brought me to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore where I had what was experimental surgery to correct a life-threatening defect. That sacrifice on their part was something I never forgot. It taught me that no sacrifice is too great for family and friends.
Laura had a number of jobs on Long Island managing businesses in Nassau County. My father used his business background and became a high school teacher at Elmont Memorial High School. Eventually, he was recruited to be the chairman of the business department at Monticello High School. My mother worked in the middle school as a teacher’s aide.
Both Mom and Dad taught me the rewards of doing random acts of kindness and volunteering to help others. After my dad passed on in 2003, Mom decided to find a volunteer position in the county. She began a 12-year stint as the greeter at the front desk of The Office for The Aging at the government center in Monticello. The only problem was, at the time, Mom did not have a driver’s license, nor had she ever driven. Not to be deterred, she took driving lessons and soon drove to her volunteer position, often being one of the first in the office. In 2012 she was selected as Sullivan County’s Volunteer of The Year and was feted at a luncheon at Villa Roma.
At her urging, I was inducted into the Monticello Rotary Club to follow in mom’s footsteps and volunteering my services to our community.
My mom was outgoing and had a large circle of friends. Everywhere we went she would see someone she knew and strike up a conversation. She had many friends like Linda, Shirley, Vera, June, Rita, and Sylvia that would phone her every day to check up on each other.
When her health started to fail a few years ago, I knew what I wanted to do to make her life easier. I left my career as an actor and moved in with her. Our friendship flourished. We became season ticket holders at the Forestburgh Playhouse enjoying our afternoons at the Wednesday matinee. Every night, the world knew not to phone us at 7:00. It was our time to watch Jeopardy together. During the days she enjoyed reading the books we stored in her Kindle and playing some video games that kept her mind active. Mom was an avid reader, and I was her conduit with the Crawford Library in Monticello. Her favorite expression whenever we made plans to go somewhere was “weather permitting.” And when the weather cooperated, we went for long rides in the country. Mom was an avid NY Yankee fan and watched every game on television.
When I started to write my weekly column for The Sullivan County Democrat, I looked forward to her telling me “I liked your column.” Then when I became a cohost once a month and also had a segment on Paul Ciliberto’s Thursday morning radio show, Mom would turn on the radio in her bedroom to listen and later tell me her thoughts about it
Laura is survived by me her loving son Abbot, her grandchildren Joshua and Zachary and her daughter-in-law, Barbara, and numerous of my cousins including Carol, Larry, Marc and Dianna.
Her passing leaves a huge void in my life. But I was lucky to hold her hand when she decided it was time to join my dad and brother in heaven.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home, 388 Broadway, Monticello, NY 12701. Burial will immediately follow at the New Mount Carmel Cemetery, 66-02 Cooper Avenue, Glendale NY 11385.
Arrangements are honorably entrusted to the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home - 845-794-7474 or www.josephngarlickfuneralhome.com.
