Longtime Milwaukee resident Berta Maier (nee Penzak) died Oct. 27. She was 101.
Born in Munich, Germany, she “lived through World War I, the social upheaval after the war, and the rise of Nazism,” her family wrote to The Chronicle.
Maier was released from Dachau concentration camp in 1938, and with her mother, Lina, and her husband, Herbert, obtained passage first to Cuba and finally to the U.S, her family said. Herbert died in 1989.
A member of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, Maier was “a resilient and dynamic woman who enjoyed her life in her new country. As she approached the age of 101, she lived her life with enormous grace and dignity,” according to her family.
“Some pursue happiness, others create it,” was an inscription on a pillow in her room that described her well, her family wrote.
She is survived by daughter Betsy (Bill) Reilly of Mequon and one grandson.
Blane Goodman Funeral Service, LLC, handled the funeral and burial arrangements. Rabbi Marc Berkson officiated at funeral services on Oct. 30. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery.
Memorial contributions to ORT America, 75 Maiden Lane, New York, N.Y. 10038, or the charity of the donor’s choice is appreciated by the family.
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