David Finkelstein was born in 1895 in Chaterisk, Ukraine. He immigrated to the United States in 1913, and settled in south Portland, Oregon where he already had a sister living. He worked with relatives at a junk shop upon his arrival. He lived close to the Neighborhood House, where he learned English and went to …
Read MoreGeorge Fendel was born on August 29, 1942 in Portland, Oregon to Joseph and Gladys (Lieberman) Fendel. The family lived in Grant Park. George and his older sister Betty Lynn (Menashe) and younger brother Michael Richard attended Fernwood Grade School and Grant High School. Their father co-owned Standard TV and Appliance in SE Portland and their …
Read MoreIn 1916, Bernice met Henry Feldman in New York when she was 19. They subsequently married and moved to Portland. Henry’s parents were born in Germany and settled in Portland when they immigrated to the United States. He had four siblings, all of whom lived in Portland: Joseph, Henry, Gus and Elise (who married Herbert …
Read MoreMyra Enkelis was born August 5, 1937, the daughter of Jacob and Jennie Enkelis. She was born into a large extended family that stemmed from the marriage of twin sisters Rose and Celia (Simma) Himmelfarb to Joseph Enkelis and Shia Sussman, respectively. The two twins raised their children as closely as siblings and Myra grew up …
Read MoreSylvan Durkheimer was born March 14, 1893 in Burns, Oregon. Both of his grandfathers immigrated to the United States in their early teens to escape the military draft in Germany. His paternal grandfather, Kaufman Durkheimer, came to the US from Bavaria in 1839 and to Portland in 1865 by boat around South America. His maternal grandfather, …
Read MoreFelice Lauterstein Driesen was born in Portland, Oregon on February 17, 1919 to a family that had been in Portland for several generations already. Her grandfather, Rabbi Henry Nathan Heller was born in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary from a family with a long rabbinical history. A trained musician, he attended the Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen under …
Read MoreMarguerite Swett Dilsheimer was born on March 20, 1904. Marguerite’s family were Jewish pioneers in Oregon. Her mother, Julia Segal Swett had five sisters: Molly Segal, Bess Segal Bogen (Idaho), Esther Segal Goldman (Kansas City), Ann Segal, Evelyn Segal Savinar. Marguerite’s father, Isaac Swett was eight years old when their family arrived in Oregon. Isaac and …
Read MoreBoris Dayyan (born Mossesohn) was born on November 4, 1907 on Johnson Street in Portland, Oregon. Boris was from a prominent local Jewish family. His grandfather, Nehemiah Mosseyavich Dayyan, immigrated to the United States from Odessa, Ukraine in 1882, and was a rabbi at Neveh Zedek. His father, David Mossesohn, was very active in the …
Read MoreHoward Cohn was born in Portland on May 25, 1927, as was his father Sol. The family immigrated from the Russian/Polish border at the beginning of the 20th Century. The family lived on Portland’s east side and attended Temple Beth Israel. Howard grew up at the Jewish Community Center, serving on the board of the …
Read MoreMoses (Scotty) Cohen was born on March 10, 1902 in Glasgow, Scotland. He immigrated to Portland in 1911 with his mother and siblings; his father came to Portland five years earlier. Scotty lived with his father, mother, five brothers and three sisters in a small apartment in South Portland. His family was very poor. Scotty’s father …
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