Social worker Erica Weinberg and her brother were sent by their mother  to America to escape the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Although she did not know a word of English when she came to the United States Weinberg went on to become a successful social worker who had a gift for working with troubled children, according to this obituary on OakPark.com.

For more than 50 years, Weinberg worked in foster home and mental health agencies in Chicago and western Massachusetts, where she trained social work student interns from Smith College.

Weinberg died at Aug. 29 at age 90. She is survived by four of her five children.