Virginia Beach—Bessie Banks passed away peacefully at the age of 99 on December 24, 2020. She was the daughter of the late Morris and Gussie Cohen. For the past 3½ years, she resided at The Terrace of Beth Sholom Village.
Bessie was born and raised in Norfolk, Va. She graduated from Maury High School and during her later years, was very proud of the BA degree in Fine Arts she earned at Old Dominion University.
Bessie was blessed to have two extraordinary husbands. She was married to her first husband, Louis Ginsburg of Portsmouth, Va. for 22 years until his untimely death in June, 1965 at the age of 47. In August, 1975 she married Adolph Banks of Norfolk, who instantly became a beloved family member. They were married for 31 years until his death at age 94.
Bessie was preceded in death by her sisters and brother’s-in-law, Minnie and Sam Kurzer and Nettie and Frank Levy and by her son-in-law, Mike Eisenberg. She is survived by her daughters and son-in-law, Beverly and Alan Frieden and Ellen Eisenberg, and by grandchildren Leslie Frieden (Seth Feldman), Natalie Herskovic (David Herskovic), and Toby Eisenberg-Nelson (Zach Nelson). She is also survived by 6 great grandchildren, Alicia and Ilana Feldman and Abbi, Isiah, Jordyn and Charlotte Herskovic. All of Bessie’s grandchildren and great grandchildren live out of town and no matter how many updates and photos we shared with her, she always wanted more.
While we are saddened by her passing we are content knowing that she had 99 wonderful living years.
The family would be grateful for memorial donations to Beth Sholom Village, 6401 Auburn Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464. Due to the pandemic, funeral arrangements were private. H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Online condolences may be sent to the family through hdoliver.com.