Bergman Stores, Hospital Work Kept `Geri' Hurwitz Bagging

Geraldine Hurwitz, known to friends as "Geri," was a special kind of bag lady.

She didn't live out of a bag - she made a living selling them, as well as suitcases, duffles and Pullmans.

And she used that living as well as her persuasive ways to bag millions for Israel's Hadassah Hospital, a center for medical research and for the sick, injured or mentally ill.

Mrs. Hurwitz, who died yesterday at age 77 after suffering a heart attack Friday, was a familiar figure to anyone who shopped at Bergman Luggage from 1950 to 1991, when she and son Jay Hurwitz of Kirkland sold what by then was a local chain.

She was the short, determined-looking woman behind the cash register downtown.

She and her late husband, Simon, bought the store in 1955 from Mrs. Hurwitz's uncle, Fred Bergman, who opened it in 1927. Mrs. Hurwitz, who had moved here from Maine when she was a girl, worked there almost daily.

"We have a good time with the customers," Mrs. Hurwitz once said when asked the secret of Bergman's success. "We're friendly. If they come in without a jacket on a cold day, we'll ask them why they aren't wearing a sweater. People like it.

"It's still a place where people come, especially at graduation time, and say, `My parents bought luggage from you for my graduation, and now I'm here buying for my children.' "

When other branches opened, she and her husband would grab a bite, then stop by those stores before she headed home for an evening of reading papers or watching news shows.

She'd get up at 3 a.m. to write articles for fund raising. She didn't have hobbies but lived for work and family, and she was involved in the Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Friends noted she was "tough" but with a "soft" center.

She was a famous debater in high school (Roosevelt), college (University of Washington) and at Hadassah, having her facts together. When she spoke, her words had clout.

"She went to all the conferences," said longtime co-worker Bess Kremen. "She held her own with those ladies on the national level. She was a national board member of Hadassah. And it wasn't surface knowledge. She was articulate and widely read."

Kremen said Mrs. Hurwitz also could be tender, going out of her way to give rides to elder women who wanted to go to Hadassah meetings.

And she attracted workers who tended to stay. Some had worked there nearly as long as Mrs. Hurwitz.

Lillian Snyder, at Bergman's 14 years, said, "She wasn't concerned how much time you took to go to the doctor or whatever. We never punched a clock. And we always had celebrities when they were in town - Harry Belafonte, Lauren Bacall, Red Skelton."

She was as impressive at home as downtown, for her family or for drop-in friends or customers.

Her daughter, Diane Kutner of San Diego, said, "She could whip up a substantial dinner from nothing in 20 minutes with no help. We weren't too good at volunteering!"

Other survivors include her son Dan Hurwitz of Houston; and son-in-law Ian Kutner and grandsons Davi and Ari Kutner, all of San Diego.

Services were scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Butterworth's Arthur A. Wright Funeral Home, 502 W. Raye St., followed by burial at Hills of Eternity.

Hadassah Hospital contributions may be sent in Mrs. Hurwitz's name to her son Jay Hurwitz, 4820 102nd Lane N.E., Kirkland, WA 98033, or to any charity.