Carol Siman Tov, 70: Native of Pennsylvania and dedicated nurse
Murdered by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7
Carol Siman Tov, 70, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
That same day, her son, Johnny Siman Tov, as well as her daughter-in-law Tamar and grandchildren Shahar, Arbel and Omer, were all murdered in their own home in the kibbutz.
Carol’s beloved puppy Boxer was also shot and killed by Hamas that day, her family said.
A joint funeral ceremony for all six members of the family was held in Kibbutz Lahav on October 19.
Carol is survived by her three other children, Ranae, Koren and Amit, and her eight surviving grandchildren, as well as her siblings Terri, Trudi and David.
A retired nurse, Carol was raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and made aliya to Israel when she was a 21-year-old newlywed and young mother. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and she remarried to Freddy Siman Tov, with whom she had three more children, before he died suddenly in 1999.
The Health Ministry eulogized Carol as a “symbol of resilience and unconditional love which illuminated generations of children and grandchildren. She didn’t keep the good for herself, she always shared everything generously.”
Carol’s sister, Terri Peterson, told a local news outlet, “She was a wonderful sister, loved her children, grandchildren.”
Terri told the Philly Burbs news site that while in Israel, Carol attended university “to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse,” and worked locally in the kibbutz.
“Carol always had the bug to travel, see other parts of the world,” she added, saying that her sister visited her relatives in the US often, and “always stood up for the people she loved.”
Carol’s boyfriend of five years, Julian Cohen, who survived the attack on Nir Oz, told the iNews site that the Siman Tovs “welcomed me into their family, we celebrated together and traveled together and did Friday night Shabbat together and we were a family… And what we’ve lost is… beyond belief.”
Cohen said that “Carol had 11 grandchildren, devoted to every one of them,” and that the couple had a bucket list of “things to do and see before the end,” which included global travel, most recently together to Krakow, Poland.
Her niece, Heather Moser, wrote on Facebook about “my beautiful Aunt Carol.”
“She had the best personality and could make you laugh for hours,” she wrote. “She will be extraordinarily missed.”
