By Bonny Feldman
The life story of the late Florrie Chiat reads like a Hollywood movie.
From the French Riviera to Paris to New York, she lived life to the fullest against the backdrop of the devastation wrought during the Second World War.
Born in Cape Town in 1915, she grew up in Tamboerskloof. As a young adult, she decided to leave her home to visit Europe, an indication of her independent nature, since this was a time when travel was limited. Also, the year was 1938 — considering the grip of the Nazi regime already in play in Europe, it must have been very courageous to consider travelling to the continent as a young, single woman.
Florrie returned to Cape Town and spent the War years here, working as a volunteer to support the South African troops. But the desire to return to Europe remained and in 1947 she moved to Paris, working for the next few years for the Jewish Distribution Committee, assisting the thousands of refugees trying to cope with life after the War.
Her next move — in 1951 — was to New York City, where she worked for Israel Bonds for almost 50 years.
Florrie thoroughly loved everything about New York: the museums, the theatre, and the buzz of the streets. She lived in an apartment at 2 Sutton Place, hosting family and friends from all over the world, despite the small size of the apartment.
In spite of her complete immersion in New York life, Florrie always held Cape Town in her heart. Some time after her death in 2017, information came to light about the contents of her will. Amazingly, she had named Highlands House, an aged care facility for senior citizens in Cape Town, as the principal beneficiary of her estate.
The funds from this bequest have been put to good use. An initial distribution from the estate was done in 2020 to provide financial support to Highlands House in dealing with the Covid pandemic. The initiatives that the management team were able to put in place made a huge difference. While so many facilities for the aged throughout the country recorded many deaths owing to the virus, Highlands House had only one victim.
The remaining funds were allocated to the renovation of a floor of the Highlands House building to establish a memory care unit. The impressive unit opened recently as The Florrie Chiat Memory Care Unit — Dedicated to the Memory of her Parents Abraham and Naomi Chiat.
From Cape Town to Paris to New York — and back to Cape Town!
• Published in the June 2023 issue – Click here to start reading.
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