Florence Ruth (Sweet) Brilliant

Possessed a rare ability to live in the present, seizing each day with humor, wit, determination, curiosity and exceptional resiliency. A woman of many talents, she was a gifted pianist, competitive golfer, contract bridge and rummikub player and dedicated exerciser. At the age of 97, fueled by her love of physical independence and freedom, she underwent a successful hip surgery, which gave her two additional years of mobility. She was an avid reader, passionate about politics and justice, a devoted friend and most of all, a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Florence was a first-generation daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants, Samuel and Sarah Sweet; and beloved sister of Leonard. She graduated from Brookline High School in 1942, where she was the lead piano player for the Brookline High chorus. She got her Bachelor's degree in education from Boston University. In 1946, she married Melvin Brilliant, a few weeks after he returned from his WWII Army service. Following the birth of their first two daughters, Anne and Lynne, they moved to their house in Newton, MA, where they lived for twenty years. They welcomed two more children, Jessica and Frank. In her late forties, Florence returned to graduate school, where she got a social work degree and took on full-time employment as a social worker at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston and independent living residences in Dedham and Cape Cod. She worked full-time for the next twenty-five years. In the 1980s, she and Melvin moved to Centerville, MA. In her retirement, she worked part-time for ten years at a successful women's clothing store in Osterville, MA, golfed, played bridge, attended musical concerts and plays and enjoyed an active social life. In 2005, she and Melvin moved permanently to Leisure World in Laguna Woods, CA. Seven years after Mel died, she returned to her hometown of Brookline, MA and embraced her new life as a beloved member of the Residence at Boylston Place in Chestnut Hill. No matter what state or town she lived in, Florence had a knack for making new friends, young and old, while maintaining strong ties with her oldest friends from childhood. Her memory is blessed by her three daughters, Anne Brilliant, Lynne Brilliant (Wanda), Jessica Keener (Barr) and son, Frank Brilliant (Lolly); five grandchildren, Elizabeth (Jeff), Sam, Cam (Tara), Justin, Lexi; and two great-grandchildren, Kira and Miles. She died peacefully after a week in the hospital, but her intrepid spirit and zest for life lives on in our hearts forever. Donations in her memory can be made to St. Jude's Hospital, Florence's favorite charity.