Obituary of Abraham H. Kaplan

ABRAHAM H. KAPLAN, 97, of Washington, D.C., formerly of Freehold, a local business owner and senior rights advocate died Friday October 31, 2008 at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Washington, D.C. He was born in New York City in 1911, moved at two weeks of age with his parents, Max and Bertha Kaplan, to Keyport. He graduated from Keyport High School in 1928. After school, went into business with his father, who operated a dry cleaning establishment. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Philippines during WWII. Upon marrying Frieda Miller of Freehold in 1941, he joined in business with his in-laws, Lena and Abraham Miller and their sons Charles and Joe, in their dry cleaning and men's clothing business. He was very well-known and respected as an active contributor to local business and civic organizations, having served on the Board of Directors of the Freehold Chamber of Commerce, President of the Retail Division, a past president of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce, where he and his in-laws had a branch store, and a past president of Central Jersey Dry Cleaner's Association. He was as member of Board of Trustees of Congregation Agudath Achim, Freehold and a very active member of Jewish War Veterans, having served as National Deputy Chief of Staff in 1969 and as Commander of the Oglensky-Jackson J.W.V. Post No. 359. He was a past Noble Grand of Bayside Lodge #193 I.O.O.F., and member of the Elks. He received numerous awards and commendations for his many tireless contributions to civic and religious organizations. Even as he entered his 70's and 80's, he remained very active in local organizations and took enormous pride in his involvement with the Monmouth County Office on Aging, working diligently as an advocate for seniors' rights. Upon retirement, he and his wife moved to The Villages in Adelphia. When his wife of 50 years died in 1991, he remained in Adelphia until his health started to decline, at which time he moved to Maryland and then to the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. near two of his children. Surviving are two sons, Robert Kaplan of Rehoboth Beach, DE and Gene Kaplan of Atlanta, GA, and a daughter, Cheryl Binder of Columbia, MD, in addition to 4 grandchildren, Brian Kaplan, Jay Kaplan, Cari Kaplan, and Jennifer Binder, and four great grandchildren, Hannah and Erin Kaplan, and Drew and Phoebe Kaplan. He is also survived by a sister, Ruth Bulk, and was predeceased by a brother, Sam Kaplan and sister, Florence Schneitzer. Funeral services will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. followed by interment at Hebrew Benefit Society Cemetery, Freehold. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Congregation Agudath Achim, 59 Broad Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 or Jewish War Veterans.