Jerry Wurmser: A Tribute to My Father

"Pop" Circa 1909-1910

On this Father’s day, while I’m being pampered, wined and dinned by my kids and grandkids, I know I’ll spend some time reminiscing about my Dad, “Pop”, as he was called by the many who knew him. 

He was born in 1885 in the small village of Alt Breisach, Germany.  He, his two brothers and three sisters, all ended up in America.

Pop settled in Louisville in Feb., 1913, after serving his stint in the German army.  There he met my Mother, and they were married  in November of that year.  My older brother Sol was born in November, 1914, my sister Sylvia 4 years later, and me 5 years later.   

At the height of the Depression,  to avoid bankruptcy and to save our house from being foreclosed, Pop took on three jobs, working around he clock.  To physically manage this, he sneaked in naps on his midnight to 8 A.M.  shift as a nightwatchman in a downtown Hotel.  My Pop, although not wealthy monetarily, had tons of wealth in his character, honesty, and his love and devotion to his family. 

Although Pop didn’t have the financial means to help his first cousin, Emil Guggenheim, escape  Hitler’s Germany, he did, with the aid of his employer, arrange for the financial backing necessary to bring the family over.  Everything was arranged, then Poland was invaded and  WW II began.  He never heard from his cousin again.  

A few months after Rita and I made the move to Lexington, Pop and Mom joined us here, taking a small apartment in Chevy Chase.  Pop came to our office every single day and was dedicated to helping us succeed in the business venture I had chosen.  All who knew him loved him. 

After my Mother passed away in 1970, Pop moved in with us for the remaining four years of his life.  I have fond memories of how he taught me German, from the song “Lili Marlene” to the poem “Roselein Rote, Roselein auf der Heiden”.  Pop was ony in America ten years when I was born, so he and Mom still spoke a lot of German.  He’s been gone 37 years now, but his light still shines brightly in my eyes.