Thelma Gast was born 11 November 1920 in Newark, New Jersey to Hyman (Hymie) Gast (1879-1969) and Clara Gast (1892-1964) and died 9 October 2013 851 2nd St, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States of unspecified causes. She married Samuel Yeskel (1913-1986) in 22 Bock Avenue, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Thelma attended public schools in Newark, NJ, graduating from Weequahic High School in January 1939. In the summer of 1938, at age 18, she was instrumental in organizing a labor union and leading a difficult strike. During World War II she trained as a Red Cross nurse's aide and worked as a volunteer in Newark hospitals which suffered from a severe shortage of nurses because of the war. Further supporting the war effort, Thelma grew a Victory Garden, bought war bonds and worked the swing shift in an RCA defense plant making military radios.
She met her future husband Samuel Yeskel in February 1946. They married on June 2, 1946 in the living room of her parent's house on 22 Bock Avenue in Newark NJ.
In the living room of Thelma's parents home on June 2, 1946.
Thelma was a loved and loving wife and their marriage was good and strong.
Thelma was a self-sacrificing caregiver to her mother, especially during the 11 years of Clara's illness, and a much appreciated caregiver to her father Hyman, especially during the last several years of his life.
Her two sons, Filip and David, are daily thankful for a kind, loving and nurturing mother who taught and lived a principled, responsible life.
It was characteristic of her practicality and her beliefs that she arranged to have her body donated to the UCLA program for research and medical education.
Here is the poem she asked to have read at her memorial service. It is a slight variation of the original by Mary Elizabeth Frye.
- Do not stand at my grave and weep,
- I am not there; I do not sleep.
- I am a thousand winds that blow,
- I am the diamond glints on snow,
- I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
- I am the gentle autumn rain.
- When you awaken in the morning’s hush
- I am the swift uplifting rush
- Of quiet birds in circled flight.
- I am the soft stars that shine at night.
- Do not stand at my grave and cry,
- I am not here; I did not die.
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Ann Gast (1912) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Thelma Gast (1920) | 11 November 1920 Newark, New Jersey | 9 October 2013 851 2nd St, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States | Samuel Yeskel (1913-1986) |
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Filip Jay Yeskel (1948) | 21 April 1948 Beth Israel Hospital, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States | Elka Mermelstein (1945) | |
| David Yeskel (1956) | |||
Residences
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
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| ₪ Wedding |
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