Irene Hertzberg Naumoff, 93, of Hamilton, passed away peacefully at home in her own bed on Feb. 17, 2021, with her daughter and family faithfully by her side.
Irene was born Dec. 11, 1927 in Warsaw, Poland to Jan and Olga (Fedorov) Hertzberg.
She was known by some as Irene, others by Nana, and by all as a strong, determined, independent and inspirational woman.
Visitors to her home would see countless elephant figurines. Family legend suggests her first elephant came from her husband, and the majestic animal came to represent her in many ways. Like the elephant, she was known as an extremely intelligent being with strong ties to family and community and a deep well of empathy. She was forthright, and one could count on her to bring up the proverbial elephant in the room, never hesitating to be honest and unflinching when talking about life’s difficulties in a caring and concerned way. She knew how to set aside her own concerns and was truly dedicated to the well-being of others.
This led to a life of nursing and motherhood. Of travel and adventure. Of adventurous youth, wartime service, and lifetime mentorship.
Irene’s father died when she was 4. She and her devoted mother faced a dangerous world together. She developed her personality and sense of self as a child in Warsaw. Early on carefree summers were spent in the country or on the seashore. Later, her formative teen years were spent against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, treating patients as a nurse and laboratory technician.
On Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. One of the very first bombs dropped on Warsaw destroyed a house close to Irene’s, and in her words this marked the end of her childhood as she knew it. She was 11 years old.
Suddenly she had to help her family survive. There was no longer gas for cooking, running water or power. Food became scarce. The seeds were planted during this time for the fantastic, resourceful cook and provider that Nana would become.
When the coal supplies used for heat dwindled, gathering wood in the debris-strewn streets became one of Irene’s daily duties. This necessary task became even more dangerous when it was declared looting. By simply trying to survive, the rule of law had changed and technically turned little Irene into a criminal.
When her aunt was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, Irene’s small size allowed her to dress like a younger girl and smuggle food to her starving relative. She was barely a teenager. Aunt Tolcia, along with all Jewish people, was forced by police and SS troopers into the section of Warsaw designated as the Ghetto. It was unclear to Nana if Tolcia Rosenbaum was of Jewish descent, or simply had the typical Jewish surname from her late husband. As Nana put it, Mr. Rosenbaum “had the good sense to die of natural causes well before the onset of the German occupation, thus avoiding the tragedy of ghettos and concentration camps.”
Irene was exposed to the suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto. Her aunt and hundreds of others died from starvation and disease. Thousands were being transported to concentration camps which forced Irene to choose a path formative to her personality. Now a member of the Polish Underground, she did her part to resist the Nazis by smuggling weapons instead of food. She successfully made multiple trips, bringing small handguns to Jewish resistance groups in the Warsaw Ghetto in preparation for the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April, 1943. She was 15 years old.
It was during this time period that she started her intensive training to become a nurse, starting work with her mother in the same ward of the same hospital. Irene would gain experience in multiple departments including the surgical ward, the operating room and the laboratory.
Irene was disciplined and organized, even at a young age. When her nursing skills brought her to France near the front lines of World War II she became the Chief of the Laboratory of the military base hospital. She was close enough to the D-Day invasion of Normandy that she could “clearly see parachutes dotting the skies to the north-east.” She was 16 years old.
As the war ended, Irene continued her nursing in Germany. While the bombing had ended, the danger had not. At this time she carried a handgun at all times while on duty. She was 17 years old.
The next few years were against a backdrop of fractured political recovery and blooming personal romance. Irene’s time in the Polish Underground high school prepared her for a verification exam that awarded her the high school diploma necessary to start university studies. In 1946 and ‘47 she attended the International UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) University.
Irene reunited with George Naumoff, whom she shared her first kiss with years earlier. They continued a romance forged through poetry, intellectual stimulation, and gregarious living. They were married in Munich in June of 1947.
From then until 1949, Irene worked in the Child Welfare Department of the International Refugee Organization in Munich, assisting with the placement of war orphans.
In December of 1949, very pregnant with her first child, Irene fought for a spot for herself and her husband on the last airplane that would take someone as far along in pregnancy as she was. They arrived in New York City and one month later their daughter Alla was born.
They settled in Queens, New York, and two years later their son Peter was born. They continued their social ways, and were heavily involved in the Russian immigrant community attending debonair balls and culturally-rooted Russian scout camps. Always devoted to family, she lived in a three-generation home with her mother, mother-in-law, her husband and two children.
Irene continued her work helping place refugees, this time Eastern European scholars at Asian and Latin American universities. Irene later utilized her worldliness and her fluency in Russian, Polish and English (and strong command of German) as a travel agent.
Irene and George moved to Hamilton in 1993. She became an active member of the library, museum, and was known for her love of swimming. She was also an active member of the community, which started while she was still in New York, and continued for 52 years until her passing.
George passed away in 2008, a year after they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Irene is survived by her daughter Alla Brooks of Hamilton and her husband Bill; Irene’s son Peter Naumoff and his wife Nancy; as well as grandchildren Crystal, Jeremy, and Becky Naumoff, Eli and Will Bolotin, Sasha Brooks and Allison Alliance; six great-grandchildren and a seventh on the way.
The immense value of books was a recurring theme in Irene’s life. As food dwindled during the German occupation of Warsaw, books were sold to provide life-sustaining funds. Irene finished her secondary school studies in the underground high school by smuggling pages of text books to secret classes. In New York she worked providing books to college libraries. After moving to Hamilton, Irene volunteered at the library. It is no surprise it was her desire that in lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to honor her memory do so with a donation to the Bitterroot Public Library.
Sheilah Melsness says
Irene was a wonder to be reckoned with even in her late years. She never gave up helping people. Sometimes with a stern worn but
Always a hug available. I so admire her fortitude, caring an loving those around her.
Irene you will forever be missed! You taught me a great deal! I will cherish my elephant every day!
Vera Gargano says
I loved my Tauta Ira and the memories she gave me!