Eva Dilloff (1923 ~ 2009)

The monkeys at the Central Park zoo
Tea time at the Plaza
Buying toys for us at FAO Schwartz
Frequent visits to the MOMA
The clacking of her ivory bracelets
How I reminded her of Grandpa
Taking us to see the Nutcracker every year, ever since I can remember
Introducing me to French cuisine from a very early age
Trips to Jamaica, Martinique, and Guadalupe
The sound of her slippers shuffling on her wooden floors.
Her etiquette, her palate
How I reminded her of Grandpa
Going to see foreign films with her at Lincoln Plaza
Her chocolate mousse, her amazing egg drop soup, her gefilte fish. She was an amazing cook.
She loved to talk to people who were different from her.
She loved to tell her stories to strangers and unravel her life to new people
She loved to discover new places, and yet she loved to re-visit old places and describe how they had changed.
She loved to describe works of art, whether she was seeing them for the first time or for the hundredth time
She critiqued things from the past as if it were her right to critique them. It was almost as if she felt proud and entitled to assert her opinions of anything and everything.
She was always on time. She was always ahead of her time. She was punctual and would always arrive at places before anyone else. She was beyond her age in her cultural outlook and her views on the world.
She was honest and said how she felt. Sometimes she was a little too blunt, but she never apologized for what she believed in.
She was confident in her views, her opinions, her style, her demeanor.
She had impeccable taste. In clothing, food, art, culture.
My grandma was always in vogue. She gave fashion a new meaning for her age. All of the fashion magazines should have followed her through the decades. She always knew what was in style, what to wear, what not to wear.
Her countless designer bags and shoeboxes in her closets say it all. From vintage Fendi to modern Marc Jacobs. She was shopping until her final day.
She embraced newness but she upheld tradition. She did it with perfection.
She loved her family and she loved her friends, yet she was so independent.
My grandma never showed neediness or self-pity.
She was a survivor on many levels. From escaping the Nazis in Germany to overcoming countless medical ailments. She overcame everything.
I was with her on a trip to Paris where she fell down in the street and her head started bleeding but she wanted to keep on going and keep on touring. Nothing, nothing got in her way.
She was a teacher. She loved to teach people about history and her own experiences. She taught people about arts and culture. She was a self-made scholar in her own right.
She was a storyteller. She loved to tell stories. Her mind was an encyclopedia of stories and experiences.
She had a phenomenal memory.
She absolutely loved the news. From the Times to the Post. She loved the absurdity of the Post and she loved the intensity of the Times.
She loved hearing gossip.
She loved listening to the news in various European languages. She listened to German news and Italian news, and in the morning she listened to 1010 wins.
She had little patience for stupidity. She had little patience for intolerance and narrow mindedness. What inspired her was creativity, cleverness, and wittiness.
She loved the winter Olympics. She loved figure skating, and she was a figure skater herself for many years.
We would be in the Caribbean on the most beautiful beaches and she would be inside watching the Olympics while I was outside on the beach.
She loved tennis.
Tennis was her summer and figure skating was her winter.
She loved Rafael Nadal. She loved Andre Agassi.
She loved opera. Puccini. Wagner. Mozart. She loved ballet. She gave her heart and soul volunteering at Lincoln Center.
She loved the impressionist paintings as if they were her brothers. She spoke of the impressionists as if they were our long lost relatives.
She loved Matisse. She loved Monet. She loved Manet. She loved Degas. She loved Chagall. They were her boy band. Her pop music.
She loved Monet’s waterlilies.
She loved Nature. She loved to use the word “lush” to describe it.
She loved mountains. She loved deserts. Her two favorite states were Arizona and Vermont.
She loved land. She loved landscapes.
She loved the Southwest.
She loved California
She loved the vibrance, youthfulness and chaos of New York City.
She loved the South of France, and by far, her favorite place of all was Switzerland – She was in Switzerland so many times.
She loved Nicki and all dogs thereafter
More than anything in the world, she loved her family. And she would do anything for us.
I love you grandma. Thank you for the life you lived. Thank you for the life you have given me.