Judith “Mimmy” Kalickman Bernstein, 82, of Ambler, a second-grade teacher and devoted grandmother whose second act included social media fame, died Thursday, Sept. 4, of complications from living with 11 primary cancers at her home.
Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein’s dry wit and zest for life touched swaths of Gen Z through TikTok, where her grandson Jake Kind had posted videos of the duo riffing on pop culture, nursing home gossip, and mundane family drama since 2022.
Together, the pair amassed over 665,000 follower on the platform. And for many of them, Kind said, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein was a stand-in matriarch, a representation of what it’s like to accept your LGBTQ+ grandchildren wholeheartedly.
“My [direct messages] are just thirst comments or people saying ‘Your grandmother saved my life,’” said Kind, who is gay. “I would always film her … trying to figure out the best way to deliver her to the people because I knew she needed to be delivered.”
Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein first went viral in November 2022 after Kind posted a video of him and his mother, Andrea, helping Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein and her husband move out of their home. Since then, viewers were drawn to the trio’s devotion: Kind and his mother caring for Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein as her health declines, and Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein listening intently to Kind, whether he was explaining Jojo Siwa or introducing her to his boyfriend.
The fame, however washed over Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein “like water off a duck’s back,” one of her favorite sayings.
TikTok “kept her alive in a lot of ways, but she also didn’t have a singular thought about anyone on the internet,” said Kind.
He liked to read to Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein from the comments section or make her guess how many views she received. She’d undersell herself often, Kind said, and ask with bewildered appreciation why so many people cared.
Caring came naturally to Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein, as did perseverance. She taught second grade for decades at the Perelman Jewish Day School in Elkins Park, where she was called Mrs. B by her students — including current Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his siblings. Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein liked to stay connected with her students long after they left the classroom, Shapiro said, even going as far to canvass her neighbors when he ran for state legislature in 2004.
“Mrs. B was an outstanding teacher who instilled in me the critical foundational skills that helped me become a curious learner,” Shapiro said in a statement. “I so appreciated the pride she felt in my success.”
Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein was forced to retire from teaching in 2001 after being diagnosed with lymphoma. For the next 27 years she would be in and out of treatment at Fox Chase Cancer Center, where she would accumulate 10 more primary cancer diagnoses.
When she was well, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein would substitute teach and volunteer at Fox Chase, comforting other cancer patients. Doctors loved to say Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein exemplified post-traumatic growth, her daughter Andrea Kind said, though she thinks her mom’s will went far deeper.
“She’d walk into every room like she was full of life. Just radiant and strong, completely unconcerned that cancer even existed,” Andrea Kind said. When she’d ask how mom was doing, she joked, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein’s favorite answer was “Good enough. I’m not dead yet.”
Watching Jake Kind and Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein bond was “one of the greatest joys of my life,” Andrea Kind said. Everyone — including her followers — called Mrs. Kalickstein Bernstein “Mimmy,” because it was the only thing Jake could pronounce when he first started talking, he said.
Jake Kind did not speak until he was 4 years old. During that time, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein would take him on nature walks, pointing out the names of all the flora and fauna they’d pass. Later on, they’d pour over copies of People magazine and play board games together.
“She taught me to talk,” Jake said.
Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein’s favorite word was “fabulous,” Andrea said, and Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein’s life reflected it. Her closet was full of tailored St. John’s suits, which she’d wear to dinners at The Palm or Rosa Negra, a swanky restaurant Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein frequented with her husband, Arnold, in Cancun.
The couple lived three months out of the year in Mexico after settling down from a life of travel. At one point, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein split her time between Ambler and Hong Kong, where Arnold, a fashion executive, lived for three weeks out of every month. He died in 2023.
Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein also made sure to never soak up all the fabulous, her daughter said.
“She taught me culture … how to be resilient, how to be independent. She gave me really strong roots,” Andrea Kind said. “We were twin flames, way more than a typical mother-daughter.”
In addition to her daughter and grandson, Mrs. Kalickman Bernstein is survived by her other grandchildren, Michael Kind, and Richard Schatzberg. She had a sister, Shelly Salaman, who died in 2000.