Harriet S. Kaplan, age 91, died March 26, 2006, in King's Daughters Medical Center following an extended illness.
She was born Aug. 11, 1914, in Waukegan, Ill., a daughter of the late Max and Minnie Meyer Stern. She was the loving wife of Saul Kaplan, who survives her, for 71 years.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Sharon Simons. She is also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Melvin and Marilyn Stern of La Jolla, Calif.; a son-in-law, Robert Simons of Chicago; grandchildren Spencer and Debra Simons of Boston, Vicki and Bruce Heyman of Chicago and Gwen and Brian McCallion of Woodridge, Ill.; great-grandchildren Michael and Audrey Simons, David, Liza and Caroline Heyman and Shelly and Kaitlyn McCallion; and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Betty and Don Korros of Ashland, Ky.
She was the secretary/treasurer of Star's Fashion World in Ashland for more than 50 years.
Harriet Kaplan's life was one filled with love of family, friends and her community. By chance, Saul Kaplan, during a visit to the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago, visited with extended family. There he saw and fell “hook, line and sinker” in love with Harriet. Later that same year, they wed and she moved to Ashland, where she would be wife, friend and partner to Saul in their life together.
“My mother was her husband's right arm in their business and was a career woman long before it became ‘fashionable' to be one,” daughter Sharon Kaplan Simons would remark to friends.
The grandchildren fondly remember their grandmother as “lively, fun, family-conscious, concerned for others and as one who always extended herself to those for whom she cared and loved. She had manners and dignity and held those up as very important principles to which individuals should adhere.”
They also remember her as a great cook, wonderful hostess and one who opened her home to all - and especially as a warm and loving grandmother who not only enjoyed her life, but also the lives of her grandchildren and other family members.
The funeral will be at noon Thursday, March 30, 2006, at Steen Funeral Home-Marshall Steen Chapel, 3409 13th St. in Ashland, by Rabbi David Wucher of B'nai Shalom Temple in Huntington, where she was a member. The family invites friends to call after 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Ashland Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Community Hospice, 1538 Central Ave., Ashland, KY 41101.
