Elaine “Edzia” Flitman

September 13th, 2024

I have a beautiful childhood memory of Mr and Mrs Flitman. They were both so young and Goldie was alive. They were the only people I knew that survived with a grandparent for their children. They were dear friends of my parents, and Mark became a good friend to my brother still to this day. Please accept my sincere condolences to the family. Thinking of you all.
Esther Brenner Levine

~Esther Brenner Levine
~Long time family friend., Palatine e Illinois

September 13th, 2024

Going to Chicago and staying with aunt elaine and uncle arnold
Aunt elaine always on Sharons case haha
And she wouldn’t let me sleep in Marks room
Because i was a Little girl…
So i slept in Sharons room and ruined her barbies

~Libby Marsh
~Extended family, Whittier ca

September 13th, 2024

Elaine and my mother (Marika Gilbert) were both Holocaust survivors who fled the devastation of postwar Europe. They met in the early 1950s and became lifelong friends, surrogate sisters to one another. Elaine was a loving figure in my life from the day I was born, in 1956. We lived on the same block in Skokie, Illinois. I grew up knowing Sharon who always impressed me with her beauty and simple elegance, and Mark who was a friend of mine. Elaine always showered me with love, and she taught me about life in so many ways. I was lucky enough share her loving presence at many Seders. Later as an adult, when I came out as a gay man, Elaine was always loving and supportive. She was there when my beloved brother ended his life much too young at the age of 20.

I cannot put into words how important Elaine was to me. She was my aunt really. I spoke with her last on her birthday in August of this year, and I am so grateful that I could tell her how much I love her. The world was more beautiful Elaine because of your presence, and I will love you until the day I die, and even beyond. I know I will someday greet and hug you on the other side, and until then, I can only say, thank God for your life. I love you now and for all eternity.

~Melvin Gilbert
~Lifelong friend of the family, Hoboken, NJ