Betty (Paioff) Schatz
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Betty (Paioff) Schatz of Palm Desert passed away peacefully of natural causes on February 15. Betty is survived by her husband of 10 years, Albert Schatz; her 3 children Steffanie Bergman, Mitchell Paioff and Jessica Weiner; 5 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Betty was preceded by her twin brother Melvin; and her husband of 57 years, Edward Paioff.
Born in Brooklyn, Betty moved to Los Angeles at age 14, subsequently graduating from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. That summer she returned to New York to visit family and friends, went on a blind date with a guy named Ed, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The early years of their marriage they lived in the Los Angeles area, where Ed worked with Betty's family's grocery stores. Around 1958 a new business venture brought them to San Bernardino, where they remained til 1992.
From approximately 1964 through 1980, Betty was a social worker for several San Bernardino County-administered welfare assistance programs.
At age 50, Betty decided to become a manicurist. Her love of socializing made this a natural career for her. She was a perfectionist and a natural artist. But most importantly to Betty she was a CEO. She was very proud of her success at growing and managing her business, particularly because she came from a generation that restricted women's opportunities to become successful business owners.
Basically, she won. That deep sense of pride and accomplishment lasted for her whole life.
Betty was known for her larger-than-life presence. She had an impressive circle of friends dating back to her childhood, and grew throughout her lifetime.
Betty was a woman of many talents: a green-thumb gardener who grew beautiful roses and prolific fruit trees, a renowned baker - her lemon bars were a huge favorite; a crochet-er who for 50 years was generous with her shawls and blankets.
Deeply ingrained with Jewish culture, she loved attending a weekly conversational Yiddish group.
At every opportunity, Betty loved to go dancing, attend live theater or a concert, enjoy dinners out with friends, or play cards or Mah Jongg.
Travel was a longtime love, having visited Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, England, Japan, South Korea, Jakarta, Thailand, Israel, Egypt, and Turkey, and many cruises.
She possessed a fierce love and devotion to family, and a strong work ethic, which she instilled in her children.
After Ed passed away after 57 years of marriage, Betty never expected to find love again. But find it she did, with a friend she had known for 50 years, Al Schatz. Al had just lost his wife, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, 413.256.4900.