Holocaust survivor Jacob Garfinkel of Glendale died Oct. 14 at the age of 88.
He was born in Poland and when the Nazis invaded that country fled to Russia. He was asked to surrender his passport and when he refused, he was accused of spying and sent to Siberia.
After the war, he met his wife, Sarah (nee Rosenstein), in Germany at a displaced persons camp. In 1949, the couple went to Israel, where he worked as a sign painter for the railroad. They moved to Milwaukee in 1959 and he worked for American Motors for a few years. Later, the couple operated a corner grocery store before retiring in 1980.
He enjoyed Yiddish and cantorial music, writing stories and rhymes and spending time with his grandchildren. He belonged to Anshe Sfard Kehillat Torah synagogue, the New American Club and Magen David Adom.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Rivka (Cal) Gershowitz of Glendale, Judy (Ben) VanderPool of Levittown, N.Y., and Rachel (Bob) Rudman of Bayside; brothers Rabbi Abraham (Florence) Garfinkel of New York and Alchanan Garfinkel of Israel; sisters-in-law Gilda Zaks of Milwaukee and Sarah Rosenstein of Illinois.
Funeral services on Oct. 15 were conducted by Rabbi Nachman Levine. Burial was in Agudas Achim Cemetery.
Memorials to the Holocaust Education and Resource Center of the Coalition for Jewish Learning or ASKT would be appreciated by the family.
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