Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - As 2024 came to a close, we looked back and mourned the Jewish icons who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between In chronological order, here is a selection of obituaries of 18 notable Jews who died in 2024. Pearl Berg At the time of her death, Pearl Berg was thought to be the oldest Jewish person in the world, and the ninth-oldest overall. A philanthropist active in her local Hadassah chapter, Berg was married for 58 years to Mark Berg, a...
Mrs. Bernice Wexler Diamond, 97, Altamonte Springs, Florida passed away peacefully Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, at Advent Health Hospice Care following a brief illness. Mrs. Wexler Diamond was born Aug. 20, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York to the late Louis and Esther (Berner) Landau. She and her late husband Paul Wexler of blessed memory moved to the Altamonte Springs, Florida area in 1972 from Brooklyn, New York. She retired as an office manager for a lumber company. Mrs. Wexler Diamond is survived by her loving sons, Alan Wexler (Peggy) of Lakeland,...
By Gabe Friedman (JTA) — Jewish communal mourning was defined in large part this year by Oct. 7. But other notable losses occurred throughout the year, of people who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. In chronological order, here is a selection of obituaries of 20 of the most famous Jews who died in 2023. Dick Savitt Savitt became the first Jewish tennis player to win both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, in 1951. He also became the first Jewish athlete to appear on the cover of Time m...
(JTA) - The Jewish Theological Seminary community is in mourning after three revered scholars long associated with the Conservative movement flagship died within days of each other. Rabbi Israel Francus, who died Nov. 15 at age 96, and Rabbi Avraham Holtz, who died the same day at age 89, were both professors emeritus at the seminary - Francus as a longtime professor of Talmudic exegesis and Holtz in Hebrew literature. Samuel Klagsbrun, who died Nov. 11 at age 91, was a psychiatrist and medical...
(JTA) - Every year brings the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of well-known Jewish icons in every field and to mourn those we have lost. Here are 18 Jews who died in 2022 and who leave outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. Madeleine Albright The "first woman secretary of state in the United States" label will always follow Madeleine Albright, especially because of her success in such a male-dominated field of policy. But regardless of her gender,...
(JTA) - The constant stream of breaking news about American politics and the coronavirus pandemic has hidden a sobering fact: Six prominent Holocaust survivors who had dedicated much of their lives to educating others against hatred have died in Europe over the past month. These are their stories. Esther Cohen One of only 160 people from her native Greek city of Ioannina who survived the genocide, Cohen died there on Tuesday at the age of 96. She had escaped the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp...
Submitted by the family Charles B. Rosner, 85, of Kissimmee, Fla., passed away Feb. 6, 2019. He was our dad—a man of ageless stories and quip answers that made one think then laugh, and he most always brought the discussion back to his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. When he wanted something simply explained, he asked for it in “Brooklyn English.” He loved his family very much and worked hard to see his two daughters graduate college. He was a wonderful husband to his wife, Phyllis, who he met 60 years ago on a beach. They honeymooned in the Borsc...
(JTA)-To the many employees and partners of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who died Wednesday at the age of 67, he was a man of vision whose enormous drive to succeed both facilitated and complicated his relentless efforts on behalf of the Jewish people. As head of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, or IFCJ, the New York-born rabbi raised more than $360 million in donations-mostly from Christians-for projects benefiting needy Jews and Arabs in Israel and beyond. To many thousands of o...
Louis Roche Brandes, age 94, of Orlando passed away on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2017, at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Dr. Brandes was born in Bacau, Romania on Dec. 9, 1924, to the late Joseph and Ioila Brandes. He complete his medical studies initially in Romania and moved to Israel in 1948, serving as a medical officer during the War of Independence in 1948. He left Israel in 1950, and moved to Italy where he completed further medical studies becoming a psychiatrist. In 1952, he returned to Israel to live. With the outbreak of the Suez Campaign...
Theresa Braun, age 56, of Orlando, passed away at her residence on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, surrounded by her family. A native of New York, she was born on Feb. 16, 1962, to Jack and Josephine Panullo Gehebe. Theresa graduated from high school and worked as an editor in the computer industry. On Nov. 14, 1987, on Long Island, she married Robert Braun, her husband of over 31 years who survives her. Die-hard Yankee fans, the family relocated from New York to the Orlando area in 2001. In addition to her husband, Theresa is survived by her son,...
Submitted by the family Marion Daitzman, predeceased by her husband, Ira Daitzman of Orlando, Fla., passed away peacefully on Jan. 27, 2019, at the Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs, Florida. She was 84. Marion was born April 30, 1934, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Samuel and Ida Eisen, most recently of Orlando, Florida. The essays Marion wrote in her youth reveal a young woman who knew her own mind. Some frequent topics included her family, friends and future husband to whom she was happily married for 64 years. She also wrote of her love...
Harriet G. Katz, age 98, of Lake Mary, passed away peacefully on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, at Oakmont Village at Lake Mary. A New York native, she was one of twin daughters born on Oct. 19, 1920, to the late Abraham and Cecelia Kaufman Gross. Harriet was happiest being known as a wife and mother. She was fiercely proud of her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she treasured all of her family connections. The great love of her life was her husband Lou, to whom she was married for nearly 54 years. They moved first to...
Written by her nephew, Joel Kresner Elaine Rose Regenstreich Starn, 89, passed away on Jan. 12, 2019, after a long Illness. She was a patient at La Posada Memory Care Unity, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Elaine was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on Nov. 14, 1929, to the late Jack (Jake) and Esther Regenstreich. Elaine was the widow of the late Gene Starn, who passed away in July 2018. Inseparable for over 65 years, Elaine was the love of Gene’s life. On her own, Elaine was a gifted artist and extended family and friends all cherish various artwork g...
Harry Starr, age 96, of Lake Mary, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. Mr. Starr was born in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 10, 1922, the only child of the late Aaron and Lena Schklarchik. Harry graduated high school and was a Navy veteran, serving in World War II. He was married to the late Rose Starr for 50 years and worked as a traveling salesman in women’s clothing. A longtime resident of Dallas, Harry was very proud of his 60-year membership...
Rita H. Weissmann, age 88, of Lake Mary, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. A native of New York City, she was the daughter of the late Solomon and Ruth Bloom Grober. Rita was a accomplished commercial costume designer and earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University. She was married to the late Robert I. Weissmann for moe than 65 years when he passed away in September 2016. They lived in New York prior to relocating to the Oralndo area in 1995. Rita is survived by her...
Ruth “Cookie” Klein, age 88, of Altamonte Springs, passed away on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at Horizon Bay Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs. Ruth was born on Dec. 16, 1930, in Baltimore, Maryland to the late Morris and Sarah Reiner Himelfarb. A homemaker, she married Marvin S. Klein, her husband of 68 years, who survives her, in Baltimore on Jan. 7, 1951. They relocated to the Orlando area in 1990. In addition to her husband, Ruth is survived by her daughter, Anita Klein of New Hampshire and her grandchildren Bryce Klein (Augusta Wood) and Ann...
Rouben Sami, age 97, of Winter Park, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, at Westminster Towers – Winter Park. A New York City native, he was born on Aug. 15, 1921, to the late Samuel and Regina Bivas Sami. He was a college graduate and worked as a civil engineer prior to being inducted into the U.S. Army at Camp Huckstep in Egypt. During his military career, partially due to his fluency in a number of languages, he became one of the famous Monument Men who repatriated hundreds of pieces of artwork and books stolen by the Nazis. He was t...
Lana Fink, age 78, of Clermont, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, at Quality Health Care Center Hospice in Winter Garden. A native of Baku, Azerbaijan, she was the only daughter and one of four children born to the late Lazar Khodorkovsky and Bertha Brodetskaya. Lana earned her pharmaceutical degree and worked initially as a pharmacist in an independent pharmacy and later as a hospital pharmacist before leaving the Soviet Union. The family made their way to the United States, arriving in New York on Sept. 11, 1975, and going...
(JTA)-Actress Carol Channing, who originated the starring role in "Hello Dolly!" on Broadway and won a Tony Award for her portrayal of the boisterous widow, has died. She was 97. Channing was the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Christian father and identified as "part Jewish." At 16, she learned that her father was multi-racial, with an African-American mother and a German father. She wrote in her memoir of her five-year marriage to her first husband, Theodore Naidish, that she learned to...
Nicholas Robert Pinansky passed away on Jan. 8, 2019 at the age of 35. He was born in San Diego, California, to his mother, Lisa Turano Wojcik, and father, Don Pinansky. Nicholas was a senior web designer for uBreakiFix in Orlando, Fla. He was a member of the Brotherhood and former vice president of Temple Israel of DeLand. Nicholas is survived by his devoted wife of five years, Itana Adar Pinansky; daughters, Samara Natalie, age three, and Rosalie Sybyl, age two; his loving parents, father, Don Pinansky, mother, Lisa Turano Wojcik,...
Judy Gerson Schreiber of Canton, Ga., formerly of Maitland, Fla., passed away on Jan. 12, 2019. She was 71. Judy was born to the late Robert Gerson and Sadie Schwartz Gerson on Aug. 17, 1947, in Macon, Ga. Judy married the love of her life, Dr. Stephen Schreiber, who survives her, on July 17, 1970, and enjoyed nearly 49 wonderful years together. They raised three beautiful children, whom Judy committed her life to, along with their families. Judy's family was everything to her, and the true joy...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Moshe Arens, a veteran Israeli politician and defense minister under three prime ministers, has died. Arens, who first hired Benjamin Netanyahu and is credited with helping him get his start in politics, died Monday in his sleep at his home near Tel Aviv. He was 93. Arens was a member of the Knesset for the Likud party from 1973 to 1992 and again from 1999 to 2003. As ambassador to the United States beginning in 1982, Arens brought on Netanyahu as part of the diplomatic corps...
(JTA)—Georges Loinger, a member of the French Resistance during World War II who saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis, has died. Loinger died on Friday in Paris at the age of 108, France’s Holocaust Memorial Foundation confirmed on its website. Loinger, who was Jewish but looked Aryan with his blonde hair and blue eyes, smuggled at least 350 Jewish children whose parents had been killed or sent to Nazi concentration camps in small groups across the Franco-Swiss border, the French news service AFP reported. The children he saved were...
(JTA)-Amos Oz, one of Israel's most widely read and best-known writers, has died. He was 79. The cause was cancer, the Israeli media reported. Barely older than the country he chronicled in dozens of novels, essays and nonfiction books, Oz represented a generation of writers who traced the country's emotional arc from its adolescence to the present. He also was one of the country's most vocal peace activists, calling on successive governments to resolve the Palestinian issue and embrace what he...
By Gabe Friedman (JTA)-The end of every year brings the grim task of rounding up the prominent Jews who passed away over the previous 12 months. But in doing so, we are able to pay tribute to their incredible lives and accomplishments, and revel once again in the talents and resilience of the Jewish community. This year, we lost Pulitzer Prize winners, TV stars, scholars, Holocaust survivors, spiritual leaders and many more. Here are just some of those who inspired us the most. Philip Roth In...
