Obituaries

Melvin Adler died Oct. 12 at 67. He is survived by his wife, Deanna; sons, Kenneth, Steven and Jamie; grandchildren, Maxwell and Jennifer; and three nieces. Mount Sinai

Ann Lillian Amateau died Oct. 13 at 86. She is survived by her daughters, Michele (Don) Amato and Judy Hazary; and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Clara Berger died Oct. 13 at 90. She is survived by her sons, Aaron (Gloria) and Jaime (Sonia); 13 grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; sister, Runny; and sister-in-law, Eva Livovsky. Mount Sinai

Frieda Blezowski died Oct. 12 at 81. She is survived by her son, Gerhard (Monica) Schwarzblatt; daughter Yvonne (John) Hiller; four grandchildren; great granddaughter, Emma Goldstein; and sisters, Rita Blader and Masha Zyler. Mount Sinai

Beatrice Brownstein died Oct. 19 at 80. She is survived by her husband, Mark; daughter, Jan (David) Esquith; sons, Wayne (Deedra) and Richard (Susan); and and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Jack De Leon died Oct. 16 at 81. He is survived by his son, Rick (Coleen); two grandchildren; and brother, George (Nancy). Mount SinaiEthel Epstein died Oct. 19 at 93. She is survived by her sons, Dennis and Norm (Don Carver); daughter, Rita (Seymour) Reinsteinn; six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; brother, Arthur Tumen; and sister, Betty Marvin. Mount Sinai

Samuel Friedman died Oct. 14 at 99. He is survived by his wife, Kathi; son, David; daughter, Sheela Havas; and seven grandchildren. Groman

Minnie Garr died Sept. 27 at 83. She is survived by her sons, Norman and Rabbi Ronald (Minda); four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sisters, Faye Levy and Tamar (Dr. Gerald) Freeman; and brother, Nathan Frankel. Mount Sinai

Clara Huberman died Oct. 13 at 86. She is survived by her son, Morris (Janis); daughter, Julie (Allen) Feverstein; stepson Ryan Johnson; and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Lillian Kestin died Oct. 18 at 80. She is survived by her sons, James (Rickine) and William (Neil Spark); daughter Amy (Louie) Gallardo; three grandchildren; and brother, Morris (Delores) Medved. Mount Sinai

Lillian Levin-Hellman died Oct. 17 at 86. She is survived by her daughter, Sheilah Levin-Horowitz; and grandson, Jack Horowitz. Mount Sinai

Sylvia Morris died Oct. 14 at 88. He is survived by his daughters, Stephanie Cutler, and Susan (Paul) Palmer; three grandsons; brother, Seymour (Elanor) Phillips. Mount Sinai

Dr. Marjorie Yospin Newman died Oct. 17 at 61. She is survived by her sons, Eric and David; parents, Audrey and Tobias Yospin; and brother, Richard (Joan) Yospin. Mount Sinai

Philip Press died Oct. 15 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; son, Steven (Marla); daughter, Barbara (Michael) Giglia; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild; sister, Sally Feder. Malinow and Silverman

Henry Sanders died Oct. 17 at 63. He is survived by his wife, Diane; daughters, Nicole (Bill) Raymond and Lisa; and brother, Michael (Lynda). Mount Sinai

Buz Schwartz died Oct. 14 at 80. He is survived by his daughter, Ronni; son, Martin (Melrose); and significant other, Deborah Kring. Mount Sinai

Irwin Schwartz died Oct. 17 at 89. He is survived by her son, Cory; daughter, Sandra; one grandchild; and one great-grandchild. Groman

Rose Silverman died Oct. 13 at 86. She is survived by her daughters, Wendy (Jac) Tobiska and Sandi (Dion) Warren; son, Jerry (Andrea); eight grandchildren; and one great grandson. Malinow and Silverman

Jeanette Wallerstein Spitzer died Oct. 19 at 86. She is survived by her son, Sanford; daughter, Judy Taylor; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Ilene Rhoda Stark died Oct. 19 at 75. She is survived by her daughters, Stacie (Fred Yohe) Golding and Myra (Phillip) Byrne; three grandchildren; sisters, Bonnie Blaney and Myra (David) Chapman; brother, Noel (Roberta) Newman; and aunt, Norma Newman. Mount Sinai

Rozalia Torchinsky died Oct. 19 at 75. She is survived by her daughter, Gena (Mark) Veksler; three grandchildren; and brothers, David (Alla) and Alexander (Svetlana). Mount Sinai

Beatrice Tucker died Oct. 13 at 69. She is survived by her son, Jeff; daughter, Dr. Cynthia; sister, Ruth; and brother, Irving Marcus. Malinow and Silverman

Eugene Weitz died Oct. 14 at 83. He is survived by his son, Mark (Gina); daughter, Linda Dimowitz; three grandchildren; sister, Phyllis (Irving) Miller; and brother, Leonard (Sally). Mount Sinai

Irving Wershow died Oct. 16, at 92. He is survived by his daughter, Phyllis (Joel) Rothman; sons, Wayne (Janis) and Michael (Lauren); five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Mount Sinai

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Benjamin Meed died Oct. 22, the second of Mar Cheshvan 5767, surrounded by his family: his wife, Vladka; son, Steven; daughter-in-law, Rita; daughter, Anna; five grandchildren; and beloved sister, Genia, who arrived in from Israel that morning, just in time.I learned the Holocaust from Ben and Vladka Meed — not the facts and the book knowledge, but something deeper and ultimately more important. I learned from them, as did millions of others, the human face and human ethos of the Jewish people who lived through that dark time and came out the other side determined to give over the voices, the sounds, the courage, compassion and determination of those who were lost.

Benjamin Meed was born Benjamin Miedzyrzecki in Warsaw, Poland, to a working-class religious family that lived in the city’s old Jewish area. At age 16, he joined the Jewish Labor Bund. After the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, he obtained false papers and escaped to the Aryan side where he posed as a non-Jew using the code name Czeslaw. At one point he thought of going to the Hotel Polski and its promise of freedom; his brother pleaded with him to take his place. Ben consented and his brother David was never heard from again. It was a memory that was to haunt him his entire life. According to German records Benjamin was dead.

On the outside, he met and married Feyge (Vladka) Peltel, also a member of the Bund. After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943, he worked with the Bund to provide hiding spaces for other Jews. After the Polish Uprising in 1944, he left Warsaw dressed as a woman.Ben and Vladka immigrated to the United States in 1946, where he became a businessman and importer.