Claire Peck Orenzow

Claire Peck Orenzow, aged 93, passed away at Harmony at Reynolds Mountain in Asheville, N.C. on Sunday, October 11, 2020. Claire was born on October 6, 1927 in the Bronx, New York. A first-generation American, she was the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia, and she attended the New York public schools and the Pratt Institute, where she studied fine art. She married her high school sweetheart, Jack Orenzow, in 1944 during World War II, and they enjoyed 67 wonderful years together in both the New York area and Asheville before he passed away in 2011. Claire had a magnetic personality, boundless energy and enthusiasm for life and the people in it, and a warm and generous heart. She was an optimist who faced every challenge by believing that something even better was surely around the corner, and she loved nothing more than seeing others succeed and find happiness. She loved classic movies, the color blue, dancing, playing mahjong with her friends and daughters, playing cards, doing the crossword puzzle and cryptoquote, reading, French-tip nails, traveling, beautiful things, driving a hard bargain, getting together with her “crowd” and having everybody over for dinner. Most of all she loved her family—as a devoted daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, she treasured times when the whole family got together, and she was an endless source of encouragement and support. Professionally, Claire worked in an array of retail, sales, creative, and administrative jobs, beginning as a teen, including working as a portrait artist and dealing in antiques. She discovered an aptitude for the job placement business, but with slim opportunities for women to advance in established firms in that field in the 1960s, she eventually founded and ran her own successful agency, Peck Personnel. She later sold that business, based in the New York City area, to move closer to her family in Asheville, and to assist her daughters, Trudy Gould and Helaine Greene, as they started their business, The Candle Station. She had a “second act” in her career as The Candle Station’s office manager for the next 13 years. Even after retiring from The Candle Station, she continued to work part time as a teller for the Blue Ridge Savings Bank. She also believed in making the world a better place for others. She served as a foster parent in New York for a time. In Asheville she was a dedicated volunteer to both Temple Beth HaTephila, where she served on multiple committees over the years, and Hadassah, where she was once honored as volunteer of the year. She also would frequently give to people she encountered in the community who needed help and was a volunteer into her 80s with the Asheville Visitor Center to help others enjoy her adopted city. She is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-law, Trudy and Carl Gould and Helaine and Leonard “Lenny” Greene of Asheville, NC. She is also survived by her three grandchildren and their partners, Rebecca Morphis (T.C.), Jenny Rawlings (Matt), and Scott Vautrin (Christine); two step-grandchildren, Lydia Gould and Jacob Gould, as well as nine great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson, several nieces and nephews and many other relatives and friends. The family would like to acknowledge the warm care and support Claire received by the staff as a resident of Harmony for the last several years, as well as the care provided in the last month by Four Seasons Hospice. Services will be privately held for Mrs. Orenzow. Condolences may be sent to the family through our website at www.morrisfamilycare.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be sent to Hadasssah at, http://www.hadassah.org/ and click on the donate button.

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Claire Peck Orenzow

October 6, 1927 - October 11, 2020