JCC Love of Reading Mayor Jonathan Rothschild read to students in the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s early childhood education program on Wednesday, Feb. 12 as part of Love of Reading Week. Rothschild read “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” by Eric Litwin and poems from “A Light… Read more »
Charles B. Jenefsky, 84, of Green Valley, Ariz., and Dayton, Ohio, died Dec. 30, 2013. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Jenefsky moved to Tucson at age 9. He graduated from Tucson High School and earned a degree in architecture at Arizona State University. Mr. Jenefsky served in the U.S.… Read more »
Milton Herman, 86, died Jan. 12, 2014, in Phoenix. Born in Scranton, Pa., Mr. Herman attended Cornell University and enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his return from the service, he completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Southern California in Los… Read more »
Laura Munday, 87, died Feb. 17, 2014, in Phoenix. Mrs. Munday was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She retired as assistant to the director for interscholastics at Tucson Unified School District. She was a member of Sabra-Aviv Pioneer Women. Mrs. Munday was preceded in death by her husband of 62… Read more »
Howard Katz, 92, died Feb. 18, 2014, in Scottsdale. Born in Newark, N.J., Mr. Katz graduated from Montclair State Teachers College. He was a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corp, serving in World War II as a B-24 navigator. He received the Air Medal with three oak leaf… Read more »
Ken Sandock on the F-series diesel Copper Spike. The Arizona & Eastern Railway ran excursions from Globe, Ariz., to a local casino from 2008-2011. Ken Sandock’s fascination with trains started when he was a boy — and it’s only gotten stronger over the years. His family lived in South Bend, Ind., and he would take the Chicago South Shore and Southbend Railroad to visit relatives in Chicago. “When I lived in Chicago there… Read more »
(L-R) Susan Wortman, Lupe Zembrano, Marjorie Cunningham and Paula Riback at Hebrew High Teaching cooking at Tucson’s Hebrew High gives Marjorie Cunningham hope for the future. “I have confidence in our young people,” says Cunningham, who has found, over the past 15 or so years that she’s volunteered to teach the class, that her students are “pleasant, polite, appreciative and enthusiastic.” She… Read more »
Patty Vallance Patty Vallance started volunteering when she had young children and lived in the small town of Placerville, Calif., from 1986 to 2000. “I have an obligation to my children, my family, to my community,” she told the AJP. “I wanted to raise my kids Jewish and connect them to… Read more »
From top: Lily, Bella, Michael, Allison (with Woody) and Sage Wexler (with Jessie) Allison Wexler is not your average Jewish matchmaker. Not only is half of every pair she connects non-human, but they generally come from a pet shelter. “I can’t go anywhere in town without being called the Dog Matchmaker,” says Wexler, laughing. “For the last five or six years, people… Read more »
It was the summer of 1963 and I was 10 going on 11. I had never attended camp before. My Auntie E worked for the Jewish Federation in New York and had discussed with my parents sending me to the Hebrew Education Society’s two-week camp with her daughter (and… Read more »
Ryley Katz at camp in 1994 I always thought it was cliché when someone said “one decision changed the course of my entire life.” That is, until I said it myself. When I was 11 years old, my mom decided to give me respite from hot Arizona summers by sending me to summer camp. She… Read more »
(L-R) Maya, Shelby, Randie and Joel Collier (Shaun Roby) Probably not many people have attended Jewish summer camp for as many years as Randie Collier. She spent 13 summers at Steve and Shari Sadek Family Camp Interlaken JCC. Camp Interlaken is in Eagle River, Wis., a five-hour bus ride north of Collier’s hometown of Milwaukee. When Collier aged… Read more »
Nostalgia about summer traditions notwithstanding, Jewish camps have changed dramatically from a generation ago. Camp’s value for Jewish education and identity-building is now a major focus of communal attention. Major Jewish foundations, federations and organizations are investing heavily in the sector. Many camps have become more intentional about incorporating… Read more »
Philip Caputo It’s time to celebrate books. The Brandeis National Committee/Tucson Chapter will hold its 18th annual Book & Author Day luncheon on Thursday, March 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Skyline Country Club, and its evening soirée March 12 at the same venue. The four featured authors… Read more »
Stella Inger Stella Inger believes in the American dream. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Inger was 6 years old when her family immigrated to the United States in 1989, following the fall of Soviet communism. “We came as refugees,” says Inger, in her office at KGUN9 television, where she’s a news anchor.… Read more »
Jill Rich Whether it’s assisting the Lost Boys of Sudan or making sandwiches for the homeless, Jill Rich has been a tireless volunteer in Tucson for more than 30 years. And her commitment to helping others began even longer ago. “Helping others is what I was raised to do. It’s what… Read more »
(L-R) Shailah, Alexandra and Jordan Lowe, granddaughters of Tucsonans Anne and David Lowe, at Camp Young Judaea Midwest. All three of my children went to Camp Young Judaea Midwest in Waupaca, Wis., where Young Judaeans from Tucson still go. At the time we lived in Milwaukee, so the camp was about a two and a half hour drive from our home. Jonathan, Caren and Ethan loved the… Read more »
Magician Michael C. DeSchalit of Magically Speaking will appear at Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s “Magical Purim Party” and dinner on Sunday, March 16 at 4 p.m. DeSchalit has performed in such venues as the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, the Riviera and Circus Circus hotels in… Read more »
Beth S. Wenger Beth S. Wenger will present “Civic Lessons: Jews and American National Holidays,” as part of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ free Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship series, on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. When America’s Jews participated in national celebrations… Read more »
Just how open should Jewish institutions be when it comes to talking about Israel? That’s the question at the center of a flurry of controversies over the last few days involving Jewish museums, an Orthodox high school and Hillel chapters on college campuses. For years, Jewish institutions have been… Read more »
