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Evelyn Marie Kohler Pomeranz
- Published: May 18, 2023
Photo by Axel Bahnsen
Evelyn “Omy” Pomeranz, of Yellow Springs, passed away peacefully on May 2, 2023, at Hospice of Dayton.
Evelyn was born on May 31, 1934, into a generations-old German circus family while they were on tour in Blackpool, England. She started performing on stage as an acrobat at age 5 and, based out of Thalheim Germany, spent her youth traveling across Europe with the Hagenbeck Circus. World War II brought her circus career to an end, and it also brought her to Yellow Springs when her older sister married a soldier stationed at Wright Field, now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
In June of 1956, while working at The Mart, a dress shop in downtown Yellow Springs, she met a young man from Israel, Shalom “Stanley” Pomeranz, who was studying at Antioch College on an international exchange program. The family legend has it that Stan’s roommate, Cliff, told him about a cute girl at The Mart, but when Stan brought Evelyn to a party that weekend, Cliff exclaimed “that’s the wrong one!” Despite Cliff’s concern, they were certainly the right ones for each other, marrying a mere six months later on campus at Rockford Chapel. They remained happily wed and dedicated to each other until Stan’s death in 1988.
In 1956, Evelyn became not only a bride, but also a naturalized American citizen. She was very proud to have attained U.S. citizenship, but she was a dual citizen, retaining her British citizenship by virtue of being born on British soil.
She and Stan loved to travel, and the whole family saw much of the world together on many great adventures. In 1969, they bought a condo on Sanibel Island, Florida, which had been a favorite vacation site since 1963. For more than 50 years, the immediate and extended families enjoyed their frequent wonderful weeks there.
Evelyn was an intense and meticulous housekeeper, and also created and tended gorgeous gardens. She loved her many pets through the years, especially her little cockapoo, Shosta. She enjoyed listening to Mario Lanza, classical opera, and WHIO-FM in its prime elevator-music years of the ‘70s, and she enjoyed watching the Chicago Bulls. Physically she was tough as nails, once falling from the second story roof of her home while cleaning out gutters, only to hop up, climb back to the top of the ladder, and finish the job.
The Kohler-Eckhardos. From top: Evelyn, Sonja, Paul, Eckhar.
She was a devoted mother to her children, Gilah and Gil. But the light of her life was her two grandsons, Michael and Nicky Rittenhouse. They adored their Omy, too, and their intense bond was a good thing for all three of them.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Sidonia Kohler; husband, Shalom Stanley Pomeranz; sister, Sonja Reed; and brother, Eckhard Kohler.
She is survived by daughter Gilah Pomeranz (Shep Anderson), son Gil Pomeranz (Dawn Zuber), grandsons Michael Rittenhouse and Nicholas Rittenhouse (Kelsie Cooley), nephew Mike Reed, nieces Erika Benkovich and Sylvia Bieller, and former son-in-law Bill Rittenhouse.
Evelyn’s family is especially grateful for the beautiful, excellent care she received during the last five years at Friends Care Assisted Living and from Dr. Kurt Fleagle, and then during her final days from Dr. Isaac Humphrey at Soin Medical Center, and the angels at Hospice of Dayton.
At Evelyn’s request, insistence, really, there will be no service. Donations in her memory should go to the YS Tree Committee, Friends Care Community, Hospice of Dayton or a favorite charity for the benefit of animals.
The family can be reached at PO Box 656, Yellow Springs, OH 45387, or at gp45387@yahoo.com.
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