Sam Itzkowitz

Sam Itzkowitz, Holocaust survivor, grocery store owner, furniture maker and beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away on October 8, 2005. He was 81. Born on September 7, 1924 in Makow, Poland, Mr. Itzkowitz was one of four children born to Fischel and Rivka Itzkowitz. His father was a shoe store owner. As a teenager, he was sent to Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps where he was put to work making small wooden boxes for crematorium ashes. After surviving the war, he immigrated to Richmond, Va. in 1950 and ran several grocery stores. On January 15, 1951, he married Lonia Wiatrak; they had three children. An injury forced Mr. Itzkowitz to retire in 1973, and he began to pursue his passion for woodworking. With no formal training, he crafted furniture for the homes of his three children and friends. He could often be found voraciously reading a book and loved to learn about everything from world history to animals. Though he was most happy at home, his love of reading and learning made him an educated and worldly man. He also spoke seven languages and loved to share his life experiences. He spent much of his later years visiting local schools to talk about his experience in the concentration camps and in the 1990s he participated in Steven Spielberg's Shoah project in order to further memorialize the Holocaust. He is survived by his wife, Lonia, of 54 years; his three children, Marvin Itzkowitz, Hannah Itzkowitz Krebs, and Fred Itzkowitz; and his seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements private. Donations may be made in his memory to the Richmond JCC or the Holocaust Memorial Museum of Richmond, Va.