Thirty years ago when Erna Prager created her Associated legacy plan with two charitable remainder trusts, she looked beyond her own lifetime, toward a future in which her gratitude could continue to strengthen the community that had welcomed her family and become their home. 

Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, Erna was the only child of affluent parents; her father worked in bedding manufacturing. Their secure life was abruptly upended when the family fled Nazi Germany in 1933, moving to several countries throughout Europe, but never finding a safe refuge. Only after everyone in the family was able to obtain visas, did Erna immigrate to Baltimore in 1939 with her parents, husband Leopold (Lee) and seven-year-old son, Lutz.

With determination and an entrepreneurial spirit, Erna’s family began rebuilding their lives in their new city. In 1940, Erna’s father and husband opened the bedding manufacturing business, Paradise Pillow, along with a retail store, Baltimore Furniture. The entire family worked side by side in the business, helping it grow and prosper until it was sold 45 years later.