Dr. Ervin Y. Rodin

Holocaust survivor, Israeli Army captain, distinguished Professor of Systems Science and Mathematics, devoted husband, and beloved father - lived a life of extraordinary courage, unshakable resilience, and profound impact. He was a man who, having endured the worst that history could inflict upon a human being, chose not merely to survive, but to soar.

Ervin grew up in Hungary during one of history's darkest chapters, when the Nazi regime sought to strip Jewish people of their humanity, their dignity, and their lives. Through strength, cunning, and sheer force of will, Ervin evaded capture and survived years of systematic oppression — emerging not broken but forged. After the Russian liberation of Hungary, he once again relied on courage and cunning to escape communism and made his way to Israel, where he began rebuilding himself as a man and as a human being.

Israel gave Ervin more than refuge — it gave him purpose. He served as a captain in the Israeli Army, fighting in its wars and standing alongside those who defended the young nation's right to exist. It was there, too, that he found the love of his life, Sarah. Israel saved Sarah's family, and it saved Ervin, and that debt of gratitude would shape everything that followed.

Ervin's brilliance and leadership soon caught the attention of the Texas oilmen who supported his drilling team in Israel – they were so impressed by him that they arranged for both he and Sarah to receive full scholarships to the University of Texas at Austin. With characteristic courage, Ervin and Sarah boarded a boat bound for America - an unknown land - and stepped into yet another new beginning.

They thrived. The Rodins acclimated beautifully to Austin, forging lifelong friendships and building a life full of warmth and possibility. And then Ervin did what Ervin did - he excelled beyond all expectation. He achieved the highest score ever recorded at UT Austin on the GRE and earned his doctorate in mathematics in just three years, multiple feats that speak not only to a gifted intellect, but to a man of extraordinary discipline and drive. During those years in Austin, their children Daphna and Eytan were born.

After a stint at NASA, Ervin discovered where his heart truly lay - in the classroom, in the minds of students, in the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next, which brought him and Sarah to St. Louis, Missouri, where their son Allon was born, and where Ervin would spend more than fifty years at Washington University.

At Washington University, Ervin built something lasting. He established the Systems Science and Engineering department within the School of Engineering, shaping the academic futures of countless students and colleagues. He founded three international mathematics journals and served as Editor in Chief of each — a contribution to the global scholarly community that will endure long after him. His brilliance, his rigor, and his presence were always felt by those who walked through his doors.

To his children - Daphna, Eytan, and Allon - Ervin was a living example of what it means to be strong, brave, and steadfast. He did not merely tell them how to live; he showed them, every day, through a life of integrity and purpose. He instilled in all of them a deep and abiding love for Israel - for the land and people that had saved their parents and given their family a future. Supporting Israel through Israel bonds, the American Society for Technion, and aid to soldiers during wartime was not an obligation in the Rodin household; it was a heartfelt constant.

When Sarah was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Ervin met that challenge the way he met every challenge - with quiet, unwavering devotion. He never left her side. He never complained. He never asked for help. He was simply grateful - grateful to be there for her, grateful to hold the family together, grateful for every moment. In caring for Sarah with such selfless grace, he taught perhaps his most important lesson of all.

In his final years, as his health declined and he gradually lost his hearing, his sight, and eventually his ability to speak, Ervin remained who he had always been. He never complained. He was always positive. He was always genuinely and warmly appreciative every time someone came to visit him – particularly his grandchildren, whom he cherished deeply. The man who had survived the Holocaust, built a new life across three countries, and shaped generations of students, faced the end of his own life with the same quiet strength he had carried since his youth in Hungary. The world has lost a great man.

A Graveside Service will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, May 13th, at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Rd. in Chesterfield.