Rosalie Silber Abrams
American politician (1916–2009)
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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]
Rosalie Silber Abrams | |
|---|---|
| Majority Leader of the Maryland Senate | |
| In office 1978–1982 | |
| Maryland State Senator | |
| In office 1970–1984 | |
| Succeeded by | Barbara A. Hoffman |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
| In office 1967–1970 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rosalie Silber June 2, 1916 |
| Died | February 27, 2009 (aged 92) Towson, Maryland, U.S. |
| Spouse |
William Abrams
(m. 1954; died 1978) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | State Governmental Structure Affecting Enactment and Implementation of a Federal Program: A Case Study of Medicaid in Maryland (1969) |
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
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]
