Well-wishers leave dozens of notes in memory of the ‘guardian angel’ of Brookline
For over 76 years, Ethel Weiss and her candy shop were a Coolidge Corner institution.
People have flocked to Irving’s Toy and Card Shop in Brookline to pay tribute to longtime owner Ethel Weiss, who passed away Thursday at the age of 101.
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“Ethel Weiss passed away on December 10. She loved her customers!’’ reads one sign hung in the shop’s window, referencing the homemade pin Weiss wore each day that said, “I love my customers!’’
Generations of Brookline residents visited Irving’s over the years, making Weiss and her store an indelible part of Brookline. In particular, students at Edward Devotion School just down the street were regular visitors.
“I think every child who went to Devotion had an impression there,’’ former Devotion principal John Dempsey said in an April 2015 article. “Every neighborhood should have something like this.’’
Well-wishers left flowers and sticky notes in the store’s window with messages in memory of Weiss, who ran the Harvard Street shop she and her husband opened in 1939 for over 76 years.
“Ethel and Irving’s were part of my daily routine throughout the 1950s and 60s,’’ one note reads. “Devotion School, Irving’s, ICI Hebrew School. My own daughter did the same. Brookline will never be the same.’’
Boston.com visited Weiss at her shop in April to hear about “Thoughts for a Happier Life,’’ a poster sold in the store featuring pieces of wisdom she had collected over a century of living.
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Even as her health began to falter, spending each day in the shop was a joy for Weiss.
“She looked forward to seeing everyone,’’ Weiss’s daughter Janice White told The Boston Globe. “It was truly a pleasure for her to be there. Yes it was work, but it was work she loved. She truly loved her customers. You didn’t even have to come in the door. You could just look in, wave, and she was happy.’’
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