Jean Wiedermann was born on January 24, 1919, in San Antonio, Texas. His dad was
from Romania and his mother was of Russian ancestry.
Jean graduated from the Wharton School-University of Pennsylvania and got his master’s
degree from the University of Chicago. In 1942, Jean entered WWII becoming a Medical
Supply Officer in the 13 th Army Air Corp.
After the Army, Jean became a traveling salesman selling jewelry. On a trip to
Brownsville, he met Elaine Dorfman, daughter of one of his customers, Isadore Dorfman of
Dorfman’s Jewelry Store. Jean and Elaine married on March 21, 1946, and made Brownsville
their home. They had one child, Susan.
Jean was the president of Temple Beth-El and the Kiwanis Club. In 1954, he helped his
father-in-law, Isadore Dorfman, in the planning and building of Palm Village Shopping Center.
This was the first shopping center in Brownsville, Texas.
Jean Wiedermann died on January 15, 1984, at the age of sixty-four. He is buried next to
his wife, Elaine, and near their daughter, Susan, in the Hebrew Cemetery.
