Lily-Rose Michalowsky 1932-2022

April 2022 People

It's hard to talk about Lily-Rose in the past tense. My friendship with Lily-Rose began when I started working for ESRA in 2007. Lily-Rose was a very dedicated volunteer in the ESRA Raanana office since its inception, and only stopped when the office was closed in 2019. She would be there twice a week, whatever the weather, never missing her allotted days. Together with the other devoted volunteers in the office, she was there to help new and old olim and answer their questions, making them feel at home with her caring and friendly manner. She was unfailingly polite and courteous, in spite of sometimes difficult customers, innately understanding that their occasional abrasiveness was usually as a result of their stress on a particular situation.

She was one of the nicest and easiest people to work with and became a personal friend to all of us – she remembered everyone's birthdays and anniversaries, she had a good sense of humor and was very warm and loving. You knew that you could confide in her and she would give you sound advice.

Her family was so important to her, and she was so proud of all of them, and kept us all regaled with stories of their achievements, and the births of her beloved great-grandchildren.

Sadly, in recent years, the arthritis she suffered with, severely limited her activities and she could no longer get out and about, go to the gym or play kalookie (a favorite pastime), but she regularly kept in touch with friends and was surrounded by her loving and caring family.

As someone once said – it's the friends you meet on your path who make the journey worthwhile. Lily-Rose was one of those friends and I will miss her greatly.

About the author

Judy Copeland

Judy (Brodie) Copeland was born in London, went to school at the French Lycee as her parents wanted her to be bilingual. After studying French and Russian at London University, Judy came to live in Israel in 1966. After the 6-Day War, she settled in Arad where Copey (Michael Copeland), Dr. Justin Phillips and she founded the WUJS (World Union of Jewish Students) Institute. Judy and Copey married in Arad in 1968 and lived there for 33 years, with a 3-year break when Copey was an emissary in the UK. Judy volunteered in many spheres in Arad: the Culture Department of the Community Center where she initiated and ran a concert subscription series and organized many events. She received volunteer awards from the Community Center Company; Mishmar Ezrahi (Home Guard); and Yad Sarah. Judy also sang in choirs, managed one of them for a while, founded two singing groups and led four choir trips overseas. She worked with Ethiopian immigrants from Operation Solomon opening a club for the adults, teaching them Israeli folk-dancing, helping reunite families who had been separated, as well as staging a fundraising event for them. After her retirement from the Institute, she opened a translation and typing agency. In 2000 she moved to Herzliya and worked for Noble Energy, the US company which found natural gas offshore Israel, setting up their offices in Israel. Since 2007 she has worked for ESRA running its Raanana center.

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