Mark Murstein

Mark Murstein, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin, son-in-law, and friend, died peacefully in hospice care at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts on September 5, 2026. He was 102.

Mark was born on July 15, 1924, in the small village of Pieski, Poland, the eldest of three boys born to Kopel and Rivka (Levinson) Murstein.

When his village became occupied by the Soviet Union, his mother became ill and could no longer care for the family. Mark, then 12, and his youngest brother Moisey, five, went to live with their maternal grandmother, Yocheved Hinda Levinson, in the town of Woloszyn in Belorussia. His middle brother, Israel-Meir, stayed in Pieski with their father. They never saw each other again.

When World War II began, Mark and his grandmother had to flee far east in the direction of Minsk. During this time, his grandmother’s mental health suffered, causing her to try to run away. They got separated on the cattle train several times, and eventually Mark lost his grandmother and never saw her again.

When Mark arrived at the Kadoshkino Railway Station in Russia’s Mordovia Republic on July 13, 1941, now alone, he made a wise decision to join a group of refugee children his age, believing he had a better chance of surviving with them than alone. He was right. They were able to stay in a local school the entire summer and in September were moved to an orphanage home in the village of Pushkino, where Mark continued to live, go to a vocational railroad school, and receive a diploma as a railroad technician. He worked at several railroad stations repairing damaged trains in territories liberated from the Germans until October 1947.

In 1948, Mark returned to Poland with hope of finding surviving family. Sadly, not only did he lose everyone on his mother’s side and father’s side, Jewish life as he remembered no longer existed in Pieski or Woloszyn.

After moving to Wroclaw, Poland in 1955, the now 31-year-old Mark wanted to get married and start a family. Unable to find a Jewish girl in Poland, he decided to go to Sverdlovsk, Russia in 1959 to see his youngest brother, Moisey, the only surviving member of his family. They had not seen each other in 20 years. During his stay, he was introduced to Bella Khaissinskaia from Cherkasy, Ukraine (then still part of USSR), who survived the war with her mother by fleeing to Central Asia, where they picked cotton, planted rice, and built houses from stone and clay in Uzbekistan. Her father, Abraham Jacob Khaissinsky, a member of an anti-air and chemical defense unit, did not survive. He was declared missing in action in May 1944.

Mark and Bella married in Sverdlovsk on August 16 in 1959, and Mark returned to Wroclaw to begin the process of filing papers to have his new bride join him. Bella arrived in Wroclaw in April 1960, and their daughter, Regina, was born in May. A short time later, Mark also was able to bring his new mother-in-law to Poland. The Murstein family continued to live in Wroclaw until November 1969, when they left for America (via Austria and Italy). They arrived in the US June of 1970, first settling in Brighton, Massachusetts, then Brookline, Massachusetts.

Mark’s first job in the new country was working for Morrison & Schiff, the kosher meat packing plant located in the neighborhood. The family enjoyed free salamis and hot dogs for a few years, until Mark left to work for Beacon Auto Radiator in Boston as a machine operator. The skills he learned working at the railroad stations during the war were put to good use.

While Mark’s childhood was changed forever by circumstances no child should ever have had to face, he didn't spend the rest of his life defined by what happened to him. He always remained optimistic, caring, and giving—not only to his family and friends, but to causes that were important to him, such as Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, HIAS, Boys Town Jerusalem, and Veterans of America, among many others.

Mark was a devoted husband to his wife Bella z”l (1930-2015) for 56 years; a proud father to his daughters, Regina and Sima z”l (1966-1968); a loving and protective grandfather to his granddaughter, Isabel; and a caring uncle to his nephew, Sasha.

A graveside service will be held at Young Israel Cemetery, Jeshurun Street (at 350 Grove Street), West Roxbury, MA, on Tuesday, September 8, at 11:00am. Shiva will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Mark’s memory to the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors: paypal.me/aajhs or send your donation to AAJHS, 391 Boylston St, Brookline, MA 02445.