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IN MEMORY

THE JEWISH STATE
January 1, 2010

BEHRENS. Mr. Bertram S. Behrens died Dec. 18, 2009. He was 92.

Born in New York City, Mr. Behrens lived there until 1963 when he moved to Briarcliff Manor. In 1987, he relocated to Concordia Adult Community in Monroe. He was a member of Jewish Congregation of Concordia and was a major in the Marine Corps during World War II. He worked for Lehman Brothers in New York for many years in financial public relations. After that he owned and operated his own public relations company, B.S. Behrens Co. in New York City. His wife, Rhoda, died in 2002.

Mr. Behrens is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Gail and Wayne Yourstone, and Andrea Behrens; nieces and nephews, Cyndi, Anne, and Richard; grandsons, Sam and Steven Yourstone; and long-term-caregiver, Tamar Takniashvili. Interment at Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge. Arrangements by The Goldstein Funeral Chapel, Inc., Edison.

BILUS. Mrs. Irene Cantor Bilus died Dec. 20, 2009, at home. She was 89.

Born in Jersey City, Mrs. Bilus was raised in North Bergen before moving to Plainfield in 1950. She lived in Plainfield and Westfield before moving to Monroe. She graduated from Weehawken High School and, along with her husband, Irving, she owned and operated the Atkin's Dry Goods/Home Decorating Store in Plainfield and Buy-Rite Curtains and Draperies in Dunellen. She was the first president of the Sisterhood at Temple Beth-El in Plainfield and volunteered at Muhlenberg Hospital and the Plainfield Rescue Squad. In her spare time she enjoyed gardening and played the lead role in many musical productions at her temple. She was a loving homemaker, mother, and grandmother. Her husband, Irving, died in 1981.

Mrs. Bilus is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Benjamin S. and Elizabeth Nickeson; daughter, Jeri Ellen Bilus; sister, Edith Brown; grandchildren, Alexander Bilus, James Bilus and Caroline Wilson; and great-grandchildren, Samuel and Robert Bilus. Interment at the United Hebrew Cemetery, Staten Island. Arrangements by Higgins Home for Funerals, Plainfield.

GABRIEL. Mrs. Laura (nee Oakes) Gabriel died Dec. 12, 2009, surrounded by her family and loving friends, after a brief but courageous fight with brain cancer. She was 82.

Born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Laura was one of approximately 10,000 German Jewish children who escaped the Holocaust in 1939 when their parents put them on trains and ships alone headed to foster families in England. She spent much of the war in and around London, including during the bombings, before being reunited with her parents and coming to the U.S. The exploits of the Kindertransport were documented in the 2000 movie "Into the Arms of Strangers" which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2001.

Laura was actively involved in the Kindertransport Association and was a Member of the KTA board since 1990 having served as chair of the contributions committee for many years prior to being elected officer-at-large in 2008, a position she held at the time of her death. She was a frequent lecturer in schools and other venues on the subject. She attended school in New York City and moved to Teaneck, where she lived for more than 40 years, including stints with the Parent Teacher Association. At the age of 60, she founded Keynote Associates, which provides event management services for conventions and corporations. She continued to work up until her death. Her husband, Dr. John A. Gabriel, died in 1992.

Laura is survived by her partner, Martin Weinberger; sons, Mark A. of Conifer, Colo., and Lawrence of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; daughter, Diane P. of Wildwood, Mo.; and grandchildren, Paula of San Ramon, Calif., Lana of Boulder, Colo., Alison of Akron, Ohio, and Michael of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; and brother, Warren Oakes of Bayside, N.Y. Arrangements by Eden Funeral Home, Fort Lee. Memorial donations may be made to the Kindertransport Association, 36 Dean St., Hicksville, N.Y. 11801-5852.

MARTIN. Mr. Dick Martin died Dec. 17, 2009 at home. He was 91.

Born in New York City, Mr. Martin lived in Fort Lee. He founded Dick Martin Sports Inc., Carlstadt. He was an Army Air Corps veteran in World War II, and was shot down in Germany and missing in action for three months. He was a member of Riverdale Temple, Riverdale, N.Y. His daughter, Rosanne, died in 1988.

Mr. Martin is survived by his wife, Harriet (nee Samalin); son, Donald; daughter, Gail; and three grandchildren. Arrangements by Eden Memorial, Fort Lee.

MAYEROWITZ. Mr. Benjamin Mayerowitz died Dec. 20, 2009 at the Manor Care Nursing Home in Walnut Creek. He was 95.

Born in New Brunswick, Mr. Mayerowitz lived in Asbury Park for 57 years before moving to Walnut Creek seven years ago. He owned Brunswick Sporting Goods in New Brunswick. He was an Army veteran of World War II, a member of Temple Beth Torah, Ocean, where he was on the board of directors and an officer in the Men's Club, a member of the Old Guard in Long Branch, Jewish War Veterans Post #125 of Asbury Park-Ocean, Congregation Brothers of Israel Elberon, Sons of Israel in Asbury Park, and Temple Beth El when it was in Asbury Park, past president of the Central Baseball League of Middlesex County, and was an officer in the New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce. His wife, Miriam, died in 1989.

Mr. Mayerowitz is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Harvey and Susan of Glen Rock, and Paul and Linda of Jackson; grandchildren, Scott Mayerowitz, and Beth and Eugenio Brauner; and great-granddaughter Gabriella Brauner. Arrangements by Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels, Ocean.

RICHMAN. Mr. Louis Richman died Dec. 19, 2009 at Magnolia Senior Living, Long Beach, Calif. He was 98.

Mr. Richman was a native of Satmar, a Transylvanian town that was part of Hungary at the time of his birth, but has been part of Romania since the end of World War I. Born with malformed legs, he could have been what was then known as a cripple. Instead, his life was marked by a remarkable ability to survive and go beyond what might have been his fate. Operated on and treated as a charity case in Hungary, he spent a boyhood in braces, unable to stand until he was almost 4. Amazingly, he came through the ordeal not only walking, but with a zest for dancing (his specialty was the Peabody). At the age of 9, he emigrated with his parents and four older siblings to the United States, living first on the Lower East Side, then in the Bronx, and later in Queens. During the Great Depression, he was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), assigned to clearing forest land near Savannah, Ga. As a young man, he also served in the National Guard, where he was assigned to an artillery unit in the days when cannons were still pulled by horses.

During World War II, he worked at Wright Aeronautical in Paterson, a forerunner of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, manufacturing parts for combat planes. But the greatest span of his career was spent in the fur manufacturing industry, until his retirement in 1976. For many years, he was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, first with the Pannonia Lodge and later with the Kismet Lodge, where he served one year as an officer.

People who knew him marveled at his energy even past the age of 90, and most appreciated his brand of wry humor. He lived for 16 years in Delray Beach, Fla.; then 14 years at Leisure World, an adult community in Seal Beach, Calif.; and finally for more than three years, at Magnolia Senior Living in Long Beach, Calif. His wife of 56 years, Sonia, died in 1995. He was also predeceased by his brothers, Eugene Reichman, Harry Reichman, and Joe Richman, and a sister, Pearl Klein.

Mr. Richman is survived by his children, Alan, a longtime resident of Morganville, and Toby, a resident of Leisure World in California; daughter-in-law, Kelli Richman; grandchildren, Lincoln and Matthew and his wife, Elisa Guarino; great-grandchildren Luca, Azi, Logan, and Ezra Richman; nephews, Marvin Klein, Larry Richman, Jack Reichman and Moe Rose; and nieces, Lily Richman and Ellen Rubin. Memorial donations may be made to ASPEN, a non-profit Asperger Syndrome Education Network located at 9 Aspen Circle, Edison, N.J. 08820.

Rothschild. Mr. J. Justin Rothschild died Dec. 1, 2009, at home. He was 80.

Born in Horstein, Germany, Mr. Rothschild came to the U.S. when he was 10 with his parents, Fanny and Willie, and his brother. He served in the Army fighting in Korea. He began working as a tool and die maker, went on to be an engineering consultant, and finally was an independent real estate owner and operator.

Mr. Rothschild is survived by his wife, Harriet, of Plainfield; sons and daughter-in-law, Ronald, and Bradford and Michele, all of Manhattan; daughters and son-in-law, Nicole and Leonard of Manhattan, and Gianine and Gavin of Westfield; grandchildren, Jordan, Sarah, Talia, Benjamin, Yael, Mia, Shoshana, and Ezra; and brother, Henry and his family in Dallas. Memorial donations may be made to Chai Lifeline, 151 West 30th St., New York, N.Y. 10001, or call (877) CHAI LIFE, or log on to www.chailifeline.org.