Morris Lipsker was born June 25, 1914, in Billings, Montana, to parents who immigrated from Russia. He grew up in Billings. After high school, Morris went to work helping his momwith an apartment house she owned.He married a local girl. Sadly, she died while giving birth. The baby girl was saved. Morris joined the Montana Continue Reading »
Bernard Levin was born in Beaumont, Texas, on March 16, 1921. At the beginning of World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and was accepted despite poor eyesight. Some say he cheated on the eye exam. Bernie was a radio operator on a bomber. In 1943, his airplane was shot down over Continue Reading »
Jules Janis was born December 24, 1921, in the Bronx, New York City. He was born Julius Jankowitz to Nathan and Francis Jankowitz. His father was from Romania and his mother was Hungarian.After high school, with the outbreak of WWII, Jules enlisted in the Army at the age of 20, joining the US Army Corp Continue Reading »
Leon Horn, Holocaust Survivor, Member of Free French Troops Leon Horn was born August 26, 1924. He and his family were living peacefully in Krakow,Poland. In 1939, when Leon was 15 years old, his world was turned upside down with theinvasion of Poland by the Nazis.In 1940, the family was forced to live in a ghetto Continue Reading »
Benny and Dorothy Greenspan were the adoptive parents of Henry Greenspan. Henrywas the long-time religious leader of Temple Beth-El until his death in 2019.Benny and Dorothy Greenspan were both born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, around thecorner from each other but never met as children. Benny was born on January 16, 1917, andDorothy was born July 2, Continue Reading »
Alex Gershowitz was born in San Antonio, Texas on Aug. 16, 1922, the son of Russianimmigrants. As the depression set in, he had to quit school and go to work. His energy, workethic and desire to be of service to all he met stayed with him his entire life.Alex came to Brownsville in 1937 to Continue Reading »
Henry Fruhling was born on May 15, 1912, in Podhajce, Poland. He attended theUniversity of Warsaw from 1932 to 1936 receiving a degree in Polish law.When the Nazi troops attached Poland, his parents put him, his brother, and sister on aship to the United States with the intent to follow later. Before the ship sailed, Continue Reading »
Ruben Edelstein was born February 3, 1918, and passed away on July 21, 2014.His parents were Morris and Yetta Edelstein. Morris immigrated to the United States from Lithuania. Morris established Edelstein’s Better Furniture in Brownsville. Ruben was in the first confirmation class of Temple Beth-El in 1933, the year that the synagogue was built. In Continue Reading »
Born 5/11/1898, Died 12/16/1971.Eli was the brother of Morris Edelstein. He was born in Lithuania. In 1928, Eli moved to Mercedes, Texas, to open a furniture store which he owned until his retirement. When WWII started, he decided to join the service despite his age. He was forty-four years old.Eli never married and he had Continue Reading »
Ben Edelstein was born December 14, 1925, and passed away on August 22, 2009.He was born to Morris and Yetta Edelstein, who were pioneers in the Jewish community in Brownsville. Ben Edelstein served in the Navy in WWII as a radar operator on the destroyer “Humphreys”. The ship took part in battles in the Aleutian Continue Reading »