Manuel Mendel

Manuel Mendel, son of Leo Mendel and Bertha Cohen Mendel passed away on Saturday, October 3, 2015, surrounded by family. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother John Charles Mendel. Survived by wife, Linda Horton Mendel, children Gayle Mendel Gordon (Jack), Judy Mendel Garfinkel (David), Atlanta, GA, William Edward Mendel (Doris), Kansas City, KS, Sharron Mendel Swain (Sean), Daniel Neumon Mendel (Amy), Lousville, KY, Karon Mendel Decker (John), sister-in-law Stephie Mendel (Belvedere, CA), nephews David Mendel (Holly), and Doug Mendel, grandchildren Laura and Alan Gordon, Emily Einstein (Lance), Marc Garfinkel (Ali), Scott Garfinkel, Sam Mendel, Morgan Mendel, Nathan Mendel, James Mendel, Julia Mendel, Amelia Mendel, Emerson Decker, Isaac Decker, Leo Swain, Noah Swain, and great-granddaughter Avery Einstein.

Born in Birmingham in 1927, he grew up attending Temple Emanu-el, earned his Eagle Scout with more badges than anyone else in the State of Alabama, and graduated from Phillips High School. After Navy Basic Training at Great Lakes toward the end of WWII, he went to Ole Miss for a year before transferring to the University of Alabama, where he studied Civil Engineering and was a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He was a 1971 graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, and served as President and CEO of Engel Mortgage Company, Inc., later bought out by AmSouth Bank, before retiring in 1992.

A member of Pine Harbor Yacht Club at Lake Logan Martin, he loved sailing and enjoyed racing. He loved reading so much that he wore a hole in the living room carpet while reading the entire "Lifetime Reading Program," and looked forward to his book club right up until the end. He was a long-standing and active member of New Horizons at UAB, and was a regular swimmer at the Jewish Community Center and Lakeshore.

Please send donations in honor of Manuel Mendel to to the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (NSDA), 300 Park Boulevard, Suite 335, Itasca, IL 60143, www.dysphonia.org.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2 pm, at Southern Heritage Funeral Home, officiated by Rabbi Laila Haas. Graveside burial afterwards, followed by dinner at the funeral home for all who would like to stay. Visitation from 12-2 at the funeral home.