Maureen Hoch was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the eldest daughter in a nice Jewish family. Her father was a doctor and her mother a balaboosta. She was educated in a semi-private girls’ school where she was an excellent scholar, but hated the narrow curriculum and Victorian discipline.
As a teenager Maureen was very involved in Habonim, became a fervent Zionist, and joined a group to make aliyah to Kibbutz Mevo Hama on the Golan. She studied mathematics at Strathclyde University, worked for IBM as a computer programmer, and taught mathematics to adults. At age 21 she married Jack and four years later they came to live in Israel with their five-month-old son Benji.
Like most young couples in the late 70s and early 80s the Hochs struggled. They settled in Raanana where their two younger sons were born. Maureen obtained a teacher’s diploma at Tel Aviv University and taught mathematics at a high school in Herzliya.
Through the years Maureen continued studying and earned a masters degree and then a doctorate in education. She also completed a course in English language editing at Beit Berl When she retired from teaching, she started working, very hard, in curriculum development and teacher training.
Over the years Maureen has had several hobbies including bridge, folk dancing, painting, but her favorite is Scrabble. She plays every week at the Tel Aviv Scrabble club and recently was part of a team representing Israel at an international tournament in Scotland.
She also volunteers for ESRA MAGAZINE - prepares the crossword, hand delivers magazines, proofs articles, and writes blurbs.