Rosalie Silber Abrams (June 2, 1916[1] – February 27, 2009[2]) was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates (1967–70) and Maryland State Senate (1970-84). She was the first female and Jewish majority leader of the state Senate (1978–82).[3] Appointed by Governor Harry Hughes, Abrams headed the Maryland Office on Aging (now Department of Aging) from 1983 until retiring in 1996.[2]
Early life
Rosalie Silber was born to Dora (née Rodbell) and Isaac "Ike" Silber[2][4] in Baltimore, Maryland on June 2, 1916.[1] Her mother was an immigrant from Poland and her father an immigrant from Austria. Her parents owned a bakery in East Baltimore called Silber's Bakery.[2][4] She graduated from Western High School in the 1930s.[2] She attended Sinai Hospital School of Nursing and became a registered nurse. She also attended Columbia University.[1]
She later attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1963 and a Master of Science in political science in 1969.[2] Her master's thesis was State Governmental Structure Affecting Enactment and Implementation of a Federal Program: A Case Study of Medicaid in Maryland.[2]
Personal life
She married William Abrams in 1954.[2] He died in 1978.[2] Together, they had one daughter, Elizabeth "Lissa" Abrams.[2][1]
Career
During World War II, Abrams worked as a nurse in the U.S. Navy.[1][2] She returned to work at Silber's Bakery in 1947 and worked there until she married in 1954.[2] She also taught sex education classes at Patterson High School.[2]
Abrams was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1966 and served until 1970.[1][2] Abrams represented Northwest Baltimore in the Maryland State Senate from 1970 until 1984.[1]
In 1983, she was appointed by Governor Harry Hughes as the director of the Maryland Office of Aging. She served in that role until she retired in 1996.[2]
Death
Abrams died of heart failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson, Maryland on February 27, 2009.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Society of Senates Past: Rosalie Silber Abrams". Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Jones, Brent (March 1, 2009). "Rosalie S. Abrams: State legislator who served 13 years in the Senate was a champion of health care reform and women's rights". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- ^ "Rosalie Silber Abrams". Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ a b "Dora Silber, 96, owner of bakery chain, dies". The Baltimore Sun. March 12, 1989. p. 9B. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
