Ludwig Silbermann

Lou Silbermann died Sunday, November 14, 2021. He was

born on November 3, 1928, in Eisenach, Germany to Josef and

Muscha Bras Silbermann; his father from Winngloka, Krosno,

Poland and his mother from Vilna, Lithuania. They had met

when his mother visited her sister and brother-in-law, Sonia

and Karl Mordikon, in Eisenach. (Having been born in Russia

whose quota had not been filled, Karl was able to immigrate

before the war to the U.S. with his wife. Lou’s parents, under

the Polish quota, were not so fortunate.)

Lou’s sister Brocha Esther (Estelle) was born in 1938. In

1939 all Polish Jews were ordered to leave Germany; the

family spent all they had to be smuggled into Belgium. In

early 1942 Lou’s father reported for forced labor and then

was deported, as a Jew, to be killed in Auschwitz. As more

Jewish homes in Brussels were being raided, his mother

placed Estelle to be hidden in a Catholic orphanage and Lou

to be hidden in a home managed by Boy Scout leaders, before

she herself was arrested and sent to die in Auschwitz.

Moving from one youth home to another, in 1943 Lou was

placed with Jeunesse Ouvriere Chretienne (JOC), part of a

Catholic youth movement which moved him and other young

Jews it was hiding from place to place for their safety. Before

he died, Lou asked that his obituary express his gratitude to

the Jesuit priest Pierre Cappard, who sheltered Jewish boys in

the JOC homes, and to Abbe Joseph Andre, Catholic priest of

the diocese of Namur, Belgium, who was able to locate

Estelle after Belgium was liberated. His sister did not thrive

in the orphanage but in mid-1943 was given a home by

Rene and Zoe Cheppe, who told people she was their niece.

After the war, Lou was able to find his sister and contact

the Mordikons. A cousin of Karl’s, Sol Henkind, guaranteed

their financial support, so in late 1946 Lou and Estelle, aged

18 and 8, sailed to the U.S. where they lived in NYC with the

Mordikons.

Arriving with a sixth grade education, Lou worked by day and

at night attended a special program for veterans and refugees

at Stuyvesant High School. which was accepting returning

veterans who lacked a high school degree. His later Regents

exam scores were high enough to put a gold seal on his

academic diploma, and he took college courses at Pace

University for a number of years, receiving excellent grades.

Lou’s mother had a brother, Sholem, whose wife had a cousin

whose son had married a daughter of Abraham Mazer, the

founder of Hudson Pulp & Paper Corp. That son worked as an

executive of the firm and in 1947 hired Lou to work in the mail

room. Over time Lou moved up several levels to spend his

career as a Sales Service Representative. He retired in 1990

after 43 years with the firm (eventually acquired by Georgia

Pacific), working in Manhattan, Palatka (FL), Darien (CT), and

Richmond (VA). This period was interrupted in 1950 when,

not yet a U.S. citizen, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, from

which he was honorably discharged two years later as a

corporal.

Lou met the love of his life, Sandra May Katz, when a friend of

hers was dating a friend of his and introduced them. They

married in December 1951 and celebrated their 69th

anniversary shortly before Sandra’s death in January

2021. The couple placed a high value on education and took

great satisfaction in their children’s academic success in

linguistics, accounting, law and computer science – including

four masters degrees and a PhD. The three children were

born in Queens, NY, but grew up in East Palatka, FL.

In 1998, the couple retired to Royal Palm Beach, FL, where

they were active in the Young at Heart Club and the Golden

Lakes Village dance club where they made good and lasting

friendships. Early in his retirement, Lou took part-time retail

jobs in luggage and jewelry shops. Throughout, he enjoyed

shopping in flea markets and garage sales, and collecting

cameras.

Lou was predeceased by his parents and by Sandra. He is

survived by three children, Marcia "Marci" Adler (Moshe),

Frank Silbermann (Jan), and Scott Silbermann; eight

grandchildren, Michael Adler, Matthew Adler (Melinda

Goodman), and Malka Adler, and Tovah, Eliana, Asher, David,

and Shoshana Silbermann; three great-grandchildren;

a sister Estelle Silbermann; a sister-in-law June Roberta;

and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

A graveside funeral service will be held at Star of

David Cemetery in Palm Beach Gardens on Wed., Nov. 17, at

3:00 p.m., followed by a week of shiva at Lou’s home in Royal

Palm Beach. Those who wish to may contribute, in Lou's

memory, to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Temple

Beth El of West Palm Beach, Chabad of Royal Palm

Beach, Chabad of West Palm Beach, The Kind Kitchen of Palm

Beach, or Hadassah.