Obituary of Mollie Wild

MOLLIE WILD January 5, 1916- April 10, 2013 TAMARAC, FL – FORMERLY OF LIBERTY, NY For 97 years no one was better or more deservedly loved than Mollie Wild. She was never heard to utter a negative word about anyone. She welcomed all. Her favorite phrase was "the more the merrier." The world was richer for her presence. On April 10, 2013, Mollie passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in her retirement home in Tamarac, FL. She had lived in Liberty for more than 80 years. Her parents, Sam and Ruth Friedman, settled in Liberty in 1919, where for many years they operated Friedman's Fair Store, a 5 & 10 on S. Main Street. Sam and Ruth had three children: Mollie, Clara Friedman Inkeles and Goldie Friedman Melnick. Mollie, the eldest, survived her sisters. Mollie, a 1934 Liberty High School graduate, married Harry Wild of Monticello in 1935. He died in 1995 after 61 years of a very happy marriage. They had two children Max Wild and Anita Wild Schwartz, who died in 2012. Liberty was always Mollie's "home". She was just "visiting" Florida. Mollie and Harry had a successful wholesale business in Liberty, which they began in 1935, shortly after their marriage. They sold general merchandise throughout Sullivan and Ulster Counties and in nearby Pennsylvania. They had a faithful following of many mom and pop stores, hotels and camps, all during the hay-days of the Catskills. In the early days of television, Alan Gerry installed a 80 foot tower and antenna on their business' roof. To aim the antenna, the fire department came to the place with the aerial ladder and one of the members went up and turned the antenna until it got the best picture. They "piped" TV to a number of the neighbors. That continued until Alan brought cable into the village. Mollie gave generously of herself to her community and religious community. Her activities included the cub scouts, boy scouts, girl scouts and a member of the Volunteer Ambulance Corp. Harry served five terms as a trustee of the Village of Liberty. They lived on Church Street from 1947 until Mollie began her sojourn to Florida about ten years ago. Mollie is survived by her son, Max Wild and his wife, Elizabeth of Warwick, NY; a granddaughter, Rachel Wild Salzmann and her husband, Eli Salzmann and their children, David and Elena of Scarsdale, NY; a grandson: Matthew Wild and his wife, Elizabeth and their children, Madeline and Thomas of Winston-Salem, NC. Mollie was predeceased by her daughter, Anita Wild Schwartz, but is also survived by her beloved son-in-law, Larry Schwartz of Coral Springs, FL and the couple's son, Jonathan and his wife, Sharon and their children: Maayan, Lea and Ben all living in Israel; their younger son, Michael predeceased Anita.  Mollie is also survived by many loving nephews and nieces and their children, and cousins. All were like children to Mollie and Harry. The funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 14th at the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home, 388 Broadway, Monticello, NY. Interment will follow at the Ahavath Israel Congregation Cemetery on Ha-San-Na Rd. Liberty. Mollie's heart was always in Liberty, where she will spend her eternity in the family plot next to her beloved husband of 61 years and with her beloved parents Samuel and Ruth Friedman, and her beloved sister, Goldie and her husband, Joseph Melnick. Mollie will be greatly missed. All who knew her will celebrate her life and feel grateful to have been a part of it. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home of Monticello; for further service details, to leave an online condolence, or for directions to the cemetery, please visit www.josephngarlickfuneralhome.com.