Joseph Tannenbaum

TANNENBAUM Joseph Joseph Tannenbaum, of Jerusalem, Israel, passed away on January 30, 2007. He was born in Miskolc, Hungary on June 9, 1926, to Alexander and Yolanda Tannenbaum. Joseph came from a family of distinguished rabbis from both Hungary and Czechoslovakia dating back to the 16th century. His great-grandfather, Yacov Tannenbaum, was a Chief Rabbi in Hungary and he was a direct descendant of Rabbi Judah Lowe, the Maharal, whose gravesite in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Prague is one of the holiest in Eastern Europe. His great uncle, Adolph Zukor, founded Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Joseph and his immediate family were survivors of the Holocaust. The majority of his extended family was shipped to and murdered at Auschwitz. He was interned in labor camps in Hungary and was shot and left for dead by the Nazis but somehow survived the horrors of the Holocaust. His immediate family survived using false Spanish passport documents. In spite of the extreme hardships he and his family endured and the interruption in his education, he received a degree in electrical engineering after the war. Under great duress, using utmost secrecy, Joseph and his family left communist Hungary in 1949 for Israel. Shortly after arriving in Israel he met Chana Klimovsky, and they were married in 1950. They settled in Tiberius where their two daughters, Hedva and Aviva were born. Soon thereafter, Joseph moved his family to Jerusalem where he worked at the renowned Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem as a bio-medical engineer. During a distinguished 40 year career, Joseph achieved international recognition as the inventor of the first Transcutaneous Electrical NeruoStimulator (TENS unit) which to this day is used in pain management centers all over the world. He helped to perfect the first heart lung machine used at Hadassah and was credited in designing one of the first cardiac pacemakers used in Israel. He was a true scholar in his field. Joseph lectured widely internationally. After his retirement, Joseph continued his research and obtained several more patents for his medical inventions. Joseph was a true gentleman and a wonderful human being. Joseph was quiet and soft spoken but yet very worldly in his knowledge and interests. He loved engaging in erudite and scholarly discussions. He cherished his family and set very lofty standards for his children and grandchildren. He had a great sense of humor and loved to tell stories, with great pride and love, about his family's prominent history in Europe. His legacy will forever be cherished and lovingly remembered by his family. Joseph is survived by his loving wife, Chana; his daughters, Hedva (Dr. Bennett) Romanoff of Sylvania and Aviva (Dr. Steven) Scheer of Sarasota, Florida; grandchildren, Daniel (Halley), David, Lauren and Michelle Romanoff and Jennifer, Rachel, and Erica Scheer. Joseph was laid to rest in the Judean Hills overlooking his beloved Jerusalem on January 30th. Bennett and Hedva Romanoff will receive friends and family at their home between 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday, February 4th. Contributions can be made to Hadassah or to Temple Shomer Emunim of Sylvania.