Gladys Kanarek Lerman passed away Saturday, January 30, in Venice, Florida. She was 99, just three months short of her 100th birthday. The daughter of the late Louis B. and Bertha Kanarek, she was predeceased by her parents, her brothers, Bernard and Arnold, and her husband of 72 years, Joseph (known as Jerry).

She is survived by her twin sons and their wives, Kenneth and Laura E. Lerman of Newtown, Conn., and Mark Lerman and Pamela Mainardi of Pomona, N.Y.; and by her son and his wife, Steven and Lori Lerman of Monterey, Calif. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, two of whom, Samantha Bernstein and Alexander (Sandy) Lerman, grew up in Newtown, and three great-grandchildren.

Called “Aunt Glady” by her eight nieces and nephews, Gladys could be counted on for forthright good advice, good counsel, and emotional support.

She and Jerry lived in the same apartment house growing up in The Bronx. She met him through her best friend, Ethel, who was her husband’s older sister.

A first generation American, Gladys’s early schooling was in The Bronx. She was admitted to the prestigious Hunter College High School, one of New York City’s selective high schools. Her father gave up lunch to pay for her subway ride to school, which was $.05 at the time.

She was a graduate of Hunter College and earned her masters degree in education at Adelphi University.

Gladys brought up her family in Elmont, N.Y., spending summers in Otis, Mass. There, she was part of a rural community she and Jerry helped to found in 1971 with ten like-minded couples. The community still exists today.

Moving to Florida in 1987, the Lermans shared a large home in New Port Richey with two widows, presaging a communal living style gaining popularity as the population ages. The residents were active in the Jewish community and the home became known as Hadassah House.

Finally, they moved to Aston gardens in Venice, Fla. She was in comparatively good health until the last few weeks of her life, and you “earned your chops” if you could beat Gladys at Scrabble.