Herbert Rolf Loewenthal

1925 - 2015
Herbert Rolf Loewenthal
(Yisrael ben Yonah ha Kohen v' Lotte)

Herbert Loewenthal passed away early in the morning of January 11, 2015, at the age of 89, from a sudden cardiac arrest.

He was a sweet, warm, and scholarly man, with a gentle sense of humor. Leaving Plauen, Germany as a Holocaust refugee at the age of 11 with his family in 1936, he grew up in Washington Heights, NYC.

He was proud to serve his adopted country in WWII in Okinawa in the Navy's construction brigade, the "SeaBees."

In his long-standing career in education, he was an elementary school reading specialist, taught third and fourth grade, and served as a vice principal. In his professional life as in all other aspects of his life, he was patient, kind, and encouraging.

A lifelong learner, upon retiring from teaching, he returned to school to get a Master's degree in Library Science, using his new skills as a librarian for the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point.

He loved listening to classical music but played jazz standards and popular music from the 40's and 50's on piano. In recent years he volunteered as an entertainer in senior residences, and was active in a local archeological society.

He loved Jewish texts and Torah. His favorite texts were Jonah, the Psalms, Pirkei Avot and Job. He was keenly interested in Mussar -- Jewish ethics. He had a second Bar Mitzvah at the age of 83, where he chanted from the Torah and gave a sermon reflecting on his life and all its changes.

He continued to change and grow throughout his life. For decades he had had no desire to visit Germany, the country which had betrayed his family, but in his 70's, accompanied his wife on a tour of Berlin. While there, he met with a former third-grade (non-Jewish) classmate, speaking and listening for hours. He realized that he and his classmate had been both caught in the tide of history, and forgave him.

In recent months, he and his wife relocated to a senior residence after 54 years in their home in Queens. After a brief adjustment, he settled in. He played piano, accompanying the visiting rabbi's Friday services, as well as entertaining residents in the lounge with jazz and popular music.

He was deeply attached to his mother, Lotte, who died in 2003 at the age of 100. He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, Ellen (Platt) Loewenthal; his sister, Erika Reis; his two daughters and their spouses, Laura (Loewenthal) and Robert Fechter, and Rabbi Amy Loewenthal and Dale Rosenberg; two grandchildren, Michael and Arielle Fechter; and two great-grandchildren, Aiden and Holden Fechter.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, January 14 at 11 am, at Brandywine at The Savoy, 55-15 Little Neck Parkway, Little Neck NY, with an informal reception to follow.

Donations in his memory, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to The Blue Card Fund (financial assistance to elderly Holocaust survivors) or the American Heart Association.