Fae (Smith) Silver passed peacefully at her new assisted living home in Las Vegas on December 9, 2021, with friends and her daughter Rosa by her side.  Fae sought fulfillment and pleasures, said what she wanted, and went after her dreams.  A survivor of WWII and the evacuation of the children of London, she was recognized for her exquisite beauty. She was a showgirl in London, 2nd place in the Miss England contest, and left England to sail the Mediterranean on a yacht with a Greek tycoon.  She had a successful career as a highly sought after model, in the days before supermodels, landing contracts with Vogue, Life magazine, and many famous photographers of the time. 

Fae said, "I met the Greek tycoon in a nightclub in London when I was a showgirl on Regence Street. I had this notion I would not show my breasts and they all showed their breasts. Since I was so shapely and so on he made the exception because i insisted and I was covered. so i was a virgin and I was 18 and I wanted to stay that way for Sy because I had this idea that youre supposed to be a virgin for your husband on your wedding night. But Sy was such a unique individual when  i told him that, and I wasnt, it meant nothing to him because he didnt care about that and I thought it would mean something to the man, you know."

Fae worked at the office at Monsanto but was fired, "because of affairs with the men in the office" at Picadilly.

"I changed my world totally around and thats when i became a showgirl.

and i thought it was so cool to be having spaghetti at midnight at Picadilly circus and not being the 9-5. I had my nosejob done and it turned out very well, good success, and then it was no stopping me. June or somebody entered my picture in a contest to be Miss Great Britain and I came in second."

"Do you know i have done this my whole life, I have a plan but I don't follow it through."

She moved to Montreal and then landed in New York working as a Vogue model.  She was offered the center spread of Life magazine yet turned it down fearing the success.   She did varied jobs, many glamorous.

In 1962 Seymour Silver walked into the infamous Playboy Club in Manhattan and had to meet the Jewish bunny complaining in Yiddish about her high heels.  "Its rather romantic, he offered to have me stay with him, no strings attached, he wouldnt come on to me or bother me, and I stayed there and we fell for each other. I remember I would come home from a date and I have a feeling when i would see him and him too. ANd then he said, why you going on these dates? and i said to find a husband and he said, "well there will always be food on the table with me. "" They wed a year later and the next year had a daughter Rosa in their upper West Side apartment. (on the same street that Miles Davis lived). A young neighbor would babysit, later to become a famous actress (Lesley Ann Warren).

"Sy's mother died. I thought that when she died Sy gets the money and we would live better, but it worked out the other way. so we moved to NJ to a little house. Then we split up and I went to an apt and he went to New York."

Although the marriage didn't work, that didn't slow her passion for life, Fae endured and kept living life.  She loved tennis playing for hours until late at night, throwing parties or dancing in clubs until all hours, or hanging with artists, writers, magazine editors, while occasionally modeling.

Then she met Charles Gilmore and they drove across country living in a van on the California coast.  She renovated a Malibu rental with a unique nautical theme - see the nautical rope and knots decorating the trim in the bathroom? Fae was strong in her conviction to create the home she desired and decorate it in her unique artistic fashion.  An avid seamstress, she added trim and other unique accessories to her glasses cases, clothes, curtains, shades, mirrors, frames, refrigerators, pillows, doors, toilets, .... she amazed many with her home decor.

Faeism- "I've learned......When somebody says something you make them stick to it right then and there or it'll be forgotten."  "So when Sy said , "I love my mother in law", I said- then lets get a ticket right now"

Then came Vegas. She and Charlie loved staying in the old Caesars. Charlie would be sitting at the bar with the band, usually old Motown favorites like The Platters, The Temptations and The Marvelettes. They got a house in Pacific Palisades and had a great time. Then they moved to London and converted her mother's house into multiple rentals, maximizing its rental potential.  Charlie did the renovation and maintenance and they had a variety of tenants. 

Fae flew to Portugal to meet up with Rosa who was on a motorcycle trip from Amsterdam to Morocco. She would take the bus while they drove the bike and they met up at each location traveling the coast down to Spain.

Then she moved to Las Vegas renting until Charlie pushed her to buy a home in construction on Presidio Drive in Southern Highlands.  They added a pool, 3 bars, a hot tub, waterfall, koi pond, turtle pond, and disco lights. Fae hired artists to paint the ceilings and walls with flowers, vines, birds and the unique interior Fae designs began a la Vegas casino inspiration.  She bought outfits to match the casinos and lived much of the year in suite after suite, then VIP room after another, as Vegas expanded and more hotels were built.

Rosa was married in 2000, had 2 sons in Hawaii and Fae began multiple trips to Kaua'i to visit her new grandsons. She hit some big jackpots and bought her first Mercedes (not her last).

Charlie passed quickly from cancer yet Fae endured, she didnt let that stop her.  The fine dining, the buffets, the casino events, the tournaments, the casino sponsored BY INVITE only parties, no stopping this woman.  Her garden became a huge joy and she put so much energy into keeping flowers blooming all year long in the desert.  Every foot of the garden had a water feature.  

Her walking got worse and she moved to a wheelchair. "Rosa, its great. they ride me right up to the best seats. I never knew it was such good service."

In 2018 she had heart surgery. A few months later she took her grandsons to the MGM Grand arena for an internally televised live boxing match.

The pandemic hit, she got a brand new titanium knee and her sister June moved in.  They had dress up parties in the garden and high tea.

Her body declined.  She began to downsize and decorate a room at an assisted living facility. It was tough, but she sold the Mercedes (second one).  Her friend Bill assisted her as she decorated and reorganized her life for its next phase. In and out of the ER, and then a diagnosis of esophageal cancer. She had had acid reflux for decades.

It was Hannukah and Rosa read in Hebrew night after night, bringing her calm and memories of her own mother Sarah reciting in Hebrew.  A few days later she asked for hospice to manage the pain.  She hadnt eaten well in days and suddenly had a good day, eating, enjoying food and making her sarcastic British humor commentary.  She took a turn the following day and Rosa arrived to comfort her. We are thankful that she was so clear - she wanted no pain and to go quickly.   She died the next evening.  She was able to live her life how she wanted to, up until the very end.

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