Meet the Office Manager, Elaine Swartz

I grew up in Dorchester, MA and moved to Brighton when I got married. We then moved to Framingham and then Holliston. We now live in Grafton, MA. My husband, Charlie, and I are both only children, but we have three children of our own, and two grandchildren. Our son, Neal, and his wife, Judy, live in Ashland with their kids, Jared and Allison. Our son, Steve, lives in Natick, and our daughter, Karen, lives in South Easton. Karen has been teaching Kitah Gan at Temple Beth Torah since 2001. After High School, I worked at Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Boston Lying-In Hospital, which is now part of Brigham & Women's Hospital, as a Medical Record Librarian. I was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years when my kids were young, although I was very involved in volunteer work. In 1980, I went to work part-time as a secretary for another Temple member who owned a Property Management Company; it was supposed to be a temporary job, but it lasted almost 22 years. In 1987, I started working at Temple Beth Torah, also in a part-time capacity, as the Temple secretary. So I had two part-time jobs, which sort of added up to one full-time job, and I was still active in volunteer work, including the Temple Sisterhood and the Temple Board of Directors. Charlie and I were among the first to join Temple Beth Torah in 1972 and I was one of the ten women who started Sisterhood in 1976, Charlie has been active in Brotherhood and has also served on the Temple Board of Directors. In 2001, my job at the Property Management firm ended when the owner moved to Florida, but, at the same time, my position at TBT was changed to Office Manager, and I began working more hours at the Temple. Serendipity! I continue to be active in Sisterhood and serve on the Temple's Ritual Committee. Many people know me from all the years I have served as an usher at the High Holidays. Even though my personal and private lives often tend to be interwoven, and I feel that my only identity is tied to my TBT position, I do love what I am doing. Each day is different and I have gotten to see so many young people grow up and we have created wonderful friendships with other Temple families.