Ilona Irene Rosenschein

Ilona Irene Rosenschein, of Boulder, Colorado, died on May 17, 2018. Ilona Rosenschein (Sicherman) was born in the small town of Kralovo, Czechoslovakia. She was fifth of 12 children. Her father ran the local kosher butcher shop. In March 1944, soon after the death of her father, she and the rest of her family, along with millions of other Jewish citizens from throughout Europe, were forcibly taken by the Nazis to Auschwitz. There her mother, four siblings, and many other relatives were murdered. Through luck and a fierce will to live, she and three of her sisters survived to be liberated by the Polish partisans in 1945. They emigrated to the U.S. in 1947, after spending 18 months in a displaced persons camp. In New York City Irene met Felix Rosenschein, a recent immigrant from a town near Kralovo who had lost all of his family in the war. They married in 1949 and settled in Vancouver, Canada and then Chicago, Illinois, where they raised three daughters. Irene worked as a nursery school teacher as well as in several small retail businesses she and Felix owned. Felix died in 1988, and Irene decided to join her daughters and their families in Colorado in 1996. She settled in Boulder, instantly becoming a beloved member of the Bonai Shalom community. In Boulder, she blossomed in many ways, enjoying the outdoors, learning to use a computer, and becoming active in Holocaust remembrance activities and in the lives of her family and friends. She is survived by her daughters Beverly, Karen, and Gail, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, including a great-granddaughter born this month. She made friends easily and her passing will be felt by all who loved her. Donations in her name can be made to Congregation Bonai Shalom or American Jewish World Service. Her family wishes to thank her dedicated caregivers and community members for their love and attention during her illness.