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July 2012 Obituaries

July 1st, 2012

Robert A. Bartfeld of Fox Point died May 25. He was 84.

He was born in Vienna, Austria, and after the Nazi anti-Jewish riots of Kristallnacht in 1938 he emigrated with his family to pre-Israel Palestine. He graduated from the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv, and studied at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

He took a break from his education to serve in the Palmach during Israel’s War of Independence. He came to the U.S. around 1955 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned master and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering. During his time there, he met Arlene Davis, whom he married in 1962.

He taught at the Technion and then at the University of Pennsylvania until a job offer at Astronautics brought him and his family to Milwaukee in 1967. He eventually founded his own businesses, one of which was Computer Corporation of America. He also taught at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

According to his wife, he loved world history and biography, and “he was always reading.” He was a member of Congregation Shalom and was active in Milwaukee’s Catholic-Jewish Dialogue. He also was a member of the International Rotary Club. Toward the end of his life, he wrote an as-yet-unpublished book about his experiences in the Palmach.

Survivors in addition to his wife include daughter Aura (Aaron C.) Ahuvia of Ann Arbor, Mich.; sons Ben R. (Nicole J.) Bartfeld of northern New Jersey and David G. (Stephanie) Bartfeld of Denver; brother Charles (Ruth) Bartfeld of Bethesda, Md.; and four grandsons.

Feerick Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated at the funeral on May 27. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Robert Louis Hurwitz of Milwaukee died on April 27 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 62.

He was a Milwaukee native who graduated from Nicolet High School and attended Lincoln College and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He worked in real estate for Coldwell Banker and was a member of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

He was a member of Congregation Shalom. He also belonged to the Brown Deer Men’s Club and was a Glendale Police Auxiliary volunteer.

He enjoyed golf — according to his family, he had a collection of more than 2,500 unique logo golf balls from all over the world — and racquetball. He also donated plasma more than 300 times.

He is survived by wife Judy (nee Kaplan); daughter Amy Hurwitz; mother Lois Hurwitz; brother Bill (Lynn) Hurwitz; sister Nancy (Jeffrey) Minkin; and parents-in-law Millie and Milt Kaplan.

Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated at graveside services at Spring Hill Cemetery on April 29.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the ALS Association’s Wisconsin chapter, 3333 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite #213, Wauwatosa, WI, 53222.

Marvin R. Nye of Mequon died Feb. 6 of congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.

According to a narrative provided by his family, he was born in Wisconsin Rapids and later moved with his family to Stevens Point, where he celebrated his bar mitzvah. The family then moved to Fontana, Calif., where he helped his father run a chicken ranch. The family returned to Milwaukee, where he graduated from South Division High School.

He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Europe. He returned to Milwaukee upon completion of his military service and in 1959 married Natalie Tolmasky, whom he met at a B’nai B’rith function.

He was a self-taught entrepreneur who founded an architectural hardware distribution firm, The Nye Corporation, and operated it in Racine from 1968 to 2008.

He was a member of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue and Temple Menorah. He enjoyed computer games, travel, golf, exercise, woodworking, and high school sports. In remarks at his funeral, his nephew Howard Gollup described him as “one of the most competent and organized people I’ve ever known. One look at his basement, or his garage, told you this is a guy who never loses anything; everything has its place, often customized for just that purpose.”

Survivors, in addition to his wife, include sons Eric (Cris) Nye and Steven (Stacey) Nye, both of Milwaukee; and four grandchildren.

Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Gil-Ezer Lerer officiated at the funeral on Feb. 8. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Steve and Shari Sadek Family Camp Interlaken of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Ronald J. Rosen of Fox Point died May 29 of a heart attack. He was 69.

He was a Milwaukee native who graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 1961. He was a real estate broker who had his own firm, Ronald Rosen Real Estate Company, that operated for more than 30 years.

According to his family, he enjoyed painting, which he made into a second career, and fishing.

He is survived by his wife, Ludmila; daughters Elissa of Los Angeles and Danielle of Chicago; son Vladimir Konstantinov of Chicago; and brother Bruce (Diane Seder) Rosen of Madison.

Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. The service was held on June 1. Burial was in Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the fund named for his parents, the Horace J. and Idabelle Rosen Camp Fund of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.

Sheboygan native Judith Ann Schwartz, nee Rabinovitz, of Glendale died May 7. She was 66.

She is survived by daughter Traci Schwartz (Darrell) Sanderson; brother Ron (Abby) Rabinovitz; and one grandson.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to Jewish Family Services-Meals on Wheels, 1300 N. Jackson St., Milwaukee, WI, 53202.

Sara “Sandy” Schwartz, nee Radbil, of Madison died Feb. 26 of a sudden illness. She was 80.

She grew up on Milwaukee’s North Side and graduated from North Division High School. She earned an undergraduate degree in French and English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She married Madison native Robert Schwartz at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue in Milwaukee in 1954, then lived with him in Madison for almost 57 years, according to her family.

She taught French and English in the Madison public schools, retiring in 1995. At Madison West High School, she helped organize a student trip to Quebec.

She was a volunteer with Madison’s Jewish Social Services, a board member and sisterhood member at Beth Israel Center. She also participated in The Royal Ladies Book Club, the Liesel Blockstein Chapter of B’nai B’rith Women International, Hadassah, the Friends of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and the Madison French Conversation Group.

Survivors, in addition to her husband, include sons Larry (Barbara) Schwartz of Naperville, Ill., Fred (Sylvia) Schwartz of Northbrook, Ill., and Steve Schwartz of Madison; sister-in-law Helene B. Radbil of Glendale; and three grandchildren.

Cress Funeral Home handled arrangements. The funeral took place on Feb. 28. Burial was in Forest Hill Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to Beth Israel Center or to the Nancy Lynn Radbil Scholarship Fund c/o the Morris R. Guten Auxiliary No. 487 of the Jewish War Veterans in Milwaukee.