Threads of the Quilt

Jeanne Jennay

Jeanne Jennay was born in Chicago Jan. 4th 1931. By age 4 she had an insatiable desire to sing, act, and BE on stage. The unexpected child, her parents struggled with how to raise their spirited girl alongside their 1st daughter who resented my mom. School wasn’t much better – teachers punished my mom with dunce hats while classmates teased her looks relentlessly. The only person my mom felt love from was her grandfather who died when she was 12. Regardless of my mom’s hard beginnings, it did NOT break her. 

Marrying at 18, she worked my dad through dental school and at 19 she sold and hosted her own radio-show in Chicago. She toured the country as a Jazz singer-musician and comedienne. When my dad was in the Air Force in Amarillo, Texas she wrote and performed shows for the USO and booked musicians. She recorded LPs with her own Jazz trio, landed lead roles and directed at Amarillo Little Theatre where I watched her in in the wings as a child. She founded and managed The Dan Blocker Singers, moving them to Hollywood landing them a record deal with Capital Records. My mother was a force of nature. 

After a nasty divorce in ‘69, my mom moved my sister 7 and me 11, to California where she started her own business as the first female talent agent in San Diego. She was vivacious but a tough cookie! Passing at 87 she had authored and published 3 books, produced her own CDs as a singer/songwriter, and hosted her own radio show, Health Is Your Wealth interviewing guests including Louse Hays and Deepak Chopra.

Our relationship was dynamic, difficult, and wonderful as my first mentor, my agent-manager, and greatest encourager! She taught me how to negotiate fees, write contracts, and market myself – a skill that still empowers my full time career in the entertainment business. She always celebrated my birthdays and every opening night. I call upon my Angel Mom Jeanne to be with me before stepping out on stage. I swear I hear her BIG boisterous laugh when I deliver a funny line. Thank you, Mom – I love you!

Shondra Jepperson

Sarah Epstein

Sarah Epstein didn't really know how old she was. Born in Lodz, Poland, she lived in her tiny village, grew potatoes for her family, never had an education, and lived through the murderous Cossack pogroms that killed family and friends.  As Hitler was rising to power, she left Poland for the United States, settled in California and then worked tirelessly as a sweatshop seamstress to bring her family members over before they were sent to concentration camps. Her greatest anguish was that she could not save her sister who she said I resembled. The people she did save slept on her floors as she worked to find them work and homes.  She lost her first two children to common childhood diseases then had two more, my mother being the youngest. This feisty little, under five feet tall immigrant taught me to sing in Yiddish, make matzah ball soup with real chicken fat, throw salt over my shoulder to keep away malicious forces, and stopped me from marrying a "momma's boy!"  When I performed on stage, she would stand up in the audience and sing with me!  She spoke to the television, passionately telling TV characters what they should or should not do, and cried when she told stories about "the old country." My grandma Sarah always sang Yiddish songs in the back seat of our car and would always plant kisses all over my face! To my chagrin, it left me smelling of garlic!  She made my clothes, my dolls' clothes, and did it all without a single pattern. She made boobala from matzah meal and never measured a thing. She'd just do it all by feel! I loved her madly. 

Dev Ross

BEATRICE PERMUT SCHATZ

MY MOM

Beatrice Permut was born on September 25, 1911, in Chicago, Illinois.  She grew up in a household where education was paramount. It was expected that all the children would pursue higher education after high school, no exceptions.

Bea lived up to those expectations and more: she graduated as valedictorian of her high school, then went on to business school, mastering typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, and accounting. 
Bea love beautiful clothes.   As she once said, “I never had an outfit without a matching hat!” Working in office environments gave her the perfect stage to showcase her collection of elegant suits and coordinated accessories.

Bea met my father, Larry Schatz, in her early twenties. But she wasn’t in a rush to settle down, she loved her independence, her work, and traveling. They eventually married in 1939, when she was 28. Bea gave birth to Howard in 1940, Charles in 1942, and I—Lisa—many years later.

Tragedy struck when Charles was only three. A young boy accidentally shot an arrow that pierced Charles’ left eye. Bea stood fiercely by his side through countless surgeries over the years, determined to preserve his remaining vision. It was a time of deep sadness for our family, but Bea never let adversity define our story.
With Larry often away on business, Bea juggled her job and home life with remarkable resolve, creating a stable, loving environment for her children. She stayed true to her belief in education: all three of us graduated from college. Howard and Charles became successful physicians, and I found my path as an interior designer and actress.
Bea passed away in 1995. She was truly a woman ahead of her time—resilient, elegant, and extraordinarily strong.

Lisa Glinsky

Jacque Dallara

Samantha Sanchez

Dianne Thorington

Gail Edwards