Well-known Milwaukee Jewish educator Bessie Mendelsohn (nee Sigel) died June 27 at the age of 88.
A recipient of the 1993 Jewish Educator of the Year from the then-Milwaukee Association for Jewish Education, she dedicated her career to the education of children and adults in Judaica, Hebrew and Torah.
After receiving her undergraduate degree in 1935 at the Boston Hebrew Teachers College, she conducted an experimental class on Jewish education for the Bureau of Jewish Education of Great Boston.
“She was loved by her students and was one of the few women teaching Torah and Haftorah in the 1930s,” recalled her son, Mark Mendelsohn.
According to her writings, she believed any child lost to Jewish education should be considered a tragedy. She viewed her teaching as a holy mission, which she pursued in Boston until 1958, when she and her husband, Sidney, moved their family to Milwaukee to take positions with the East Side Hebrew School and Congregation Beth Israel’s Hebrew school.
After relocating to Des Moines in 1969, she continued to teach until she retired to Philadelphia in 1977. After her husband’s death in 1986, she returned to Milwaukee and was sought after to teach at synagogue schools. Rabbi Gideon Goldenholz of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue said, “She was ageless.” In 1993, she trained a group of adult b’nai mitzvah students, and she herself had a bat mitzvah ceremony at Beth El.
She influenced many generations of students and teachers. Her love of all things Jewish included life membership in B’nai B’rith, membership in Na’amat of the USA, serving on the Beth El board and singing in its choir.
“She was a pillar of dignity, honesty and kindness and the epitome of gimilut hassadim,” said Sam Lieb, her son-in-law.
In addition to son Mark Mendelsohn of Cherry Hill, N.J., she is survived by daughter Rosalie (Sam) Lieb of Milwaukee; brother Hy Sigel of Framingham, Mass.; and three grandchildren.
Funeral services were held June 29 at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue. Burial was in Philadelphia.
Memorials to the Boston Hebrew Teachers College, 43 Hawes Ave., Brookline, MA 02446, would be appreciated by the family.
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