MINA SCHECHNER

SCHECHNER, Mina SCHECHNER, Mina (Dembling), of Sharon, passed away on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at 101 years of age. She was born in Poland, the daughter of the late Samuel and Fannie (Gilbert) Dembling. She was the beloved wife of the late Simon Schechner. Mina was the loving mother of Max P. Schechner and his wife Marjorie of West Newton and Linda Dubin and her husband Al of Sharon. She was the cherished grandmother of Ranen & Elissa Schechner, Jonathan & Nancy Schechner, Joshua Dubin & Rachel Meadows and Jared & Kate Dubin; and the proud great-grandmother of Avishai, Micah, Jordan, Tyler, and Alo. Mina was the dear sister of the late Irving Dembling and David Dembling. Mina was 18 years old when Germany invaded Poland. She was living in the village of Tluste (Tovste) at the time, on a farm where her father owned a grist mill. She survived multiple rounds of Jewish liquidation in Tluste before ultimately being imprisoned in labor camps. While in the camps, she survived starvation, typhus and other unimaginable horrors. The Russians liberated her camp in the spring of 1944. As refugees, Mina and Simon found their way to Salzberg, Austria, where they lived for three years before immigrating to Montreal, Canada with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). After nine years in Canada, Mina and Simon moved to Brockton, Massachusetts to be near her parents, who owned a chicken farm in North Abington, Massachusetts. Simon, together with Mina's two brothers, David and Irving, started Capeway Farms, Inc., a regional wholesale food distributor serving eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. Mina and Simon raised Max and Linda in Brockton, Massachusetts, in a house filled with love, support and the smell of Mina's homemade cooking. While the scars of the Holocaust were never far behind, Mina embraced life in America with her family. She was an active member of Temple Beth Emunah in Brockton, Massachusetts and staunch supporter of Israel. Nothing gave Mina more pleasure than cooking chicken soup for the family during the holidays, a tradition which she was able to maintain until she was 95 years old. She always tried to look at the bright side, frequently reminding family members that "It would get better tomorrow," or "I've lived through worse." Graveside Funeral Services were held at Sharon Memorial Park on Sunday, August 20th, where she was surrounded by family and friends. Donations in Mina's memory may be made to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2126.

View the online memorial for Mina SCHECHNER