Letters from California

After judy Horowitz passed away, cleaning out her apartment we discovered a large shoe box with “Letters from California” written on top of the box. Indeed, the box turned out to contain about 240 letters, mostly written by judy to her parents and in-laws while she and Terry were living in California, where he was stationed by the Navy during the first year of their marriage. There are also a handful of letters from Terry, and a few other odd correspondents.

Judy was bornJuly 3^rd, 1937. She married Terry on June 10^th, 1956. She was 18 years old. Terry was 23. Terry had insisted she marry him because he knew he was going into the Navy and wanted to be married first, fearful that a separation while he was stationed away would end up becoming permanent. Judy was reluctant because she wanted to complete college first, before getting married, but ultimately agreed. Though they would have difficult times over the years, theirs was truly a great love match that never seemed to lose its passion or romance.

They honeymooned in Florida. Terry then had to leave for basic training. He was then stationed in California, where they moved in January 1957.

The letters from judy are beyond extraordinary. Despite being only 19 when most of them were written, her writing is eloquent, funny, thought-provoking, descriptive, and full of period detail. There are some letters that are a bit shocking.Others a bit embarrassing. A few comments here and there are offensive, but we beg your forgiveness for her youth, and appreciating that they’re reflective of the world she grew up in.

Some details to help explain some of what’s discussed: judy’s parents were Joe and Esther Edelstein.Joe was a pharmacist. He owned his own pharmacy—the Strand—when the letters begin. By this time it was struggling mightily and he was desperately trying to sell it. Ultimately, he became a druggist for Drug Fair (which later became or was absorbed by CVS). Food and cooking were clearly important to both Joe andEsther. Joe had grown up in a kosher home, and as soon as he could he rebelled, particularly loving to cook crabs and other seafood. Terry’s parents were Lou and Mary Horowitz, and Terry’s younger brother Ed (Eddie/Edward)—seven years younger, born in 1940. At the time of the letters, Lou co-owned a liquor store in Georgetown (remarkably, it would go bankrupt and he ultimately became a car salesman). Mary would go back to work as a secretary at the Armed ForcesInstitute of Pathology (AFIP) at Walter Reed. Judy’s relationship with her in-laws would deteriorate significantly over the years.

Among the characters mentioned are Esther’s siblings: Howard Adler and his wife Lorraine,Helen and her husband Maurice, and daughter Harriet, Pauline and her daughterRona, Leonard and his wife Evelyn, and Reds. Reds and Howard were particular influences on judy as an artist. Their mother was also named Mary, she would pass away within a year of the letters (Mark was named after her). Terry’s mother, nee Mary Bachrach, had siblings Cookie and her husband Charlie, and their children Larry and Toby. Cookie was close in age to Terry and was the closest of his aunts and uncles. The others were Dinah, Molly, and Herman. There are two Howards who visit in California, Howard Adler, and Terry’s first cousinHoward Aron, the son of Molly and Sol.

While most of the letters are full of joy and discovery (and food), toward the end they lead to the first great tragedy of judy’s life—the premature birth and passing of twin daughters.