Ethel Hamburger, 92, was an educator and social leader
She made a videotape detailing her 12 marriage proposals, and it is precious.
- Ethel Hamburger
- 92 years old
- Lived in Elkins Park
- A dozen men proposed to her, and Irv was the big winner
There were Larry and Sam, Sidney and Fred, Marvin, Melvin, and Norm.
These were just some of the suitors for the heart of Ethel Jacobson, who rejected 10 marriage proposals before she said yes in 1954 to Irvin Hamburger.
And even after she and Irv had four children, another man was so smitten with Ethel that he asked for her hand. No thanks.
» Video: Ethel Hamburger tells the story of all those marriage proposals
Ethel Hamburger, who grew up in the Midwest before moving to Elkins Park in 1993, died from complications of COVID-19 on Thursday, April 23. She had just turned 92.
Irv, who died in 2014, was an engineer whose accomplishments included designing the hangar for Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. He used to call his wife “the Queen.”
They were living in West Virginia in the 1970s when Mrs. Hamburger came across a boy with a tattered old book he had read nine times. “It was the only book he had,” his mother told Mrs. Hamburger.
Inspired, Mrs. Hamburger went on a book drive that conjures up images of a scene in The Shawshank Redemption. She collected 12,000 books, started a library, and persuaded Sen. Jay Rockefeller to attend the dedication.
She was an educator all her life, saying succinctly: “I didn’t teach a subject. I taught children.”
“Every person I meet I try to make feel good about themselves."
Mrs. Hamburger was one of the popular residents at the Wesley Enhanced Living center. Shortly after arriving she helped organize a party for a dozen of her new friends, all of whom were turning 100. One man was so touched he called it “one of the best days of my life.”
Mrs. Hamburger was friends with the late Inquirer columnist Bill Lyon and in 2010 started a 5K run/walk to help raise money for a special wing at Wesley to treat dementia. Not bad for an 82-year old.
“She was very much a leader,” said Arielle Cohen, one of Mrs. Hamburger’s seven grandchildren. “She wasn’t just a member of an organization, she had to be president. She had to be on the board. She really wanted to make a difference and a mark on everything she touched.”
In addition to her grandchildren, Mrs. Hamburger is survived by children, Pamela, Mitchell, Evan, and Melanie, and three great-grandchildren.
— Ed Barkowitz