JACQUES FEIN

FEIN JACQUES FEIN Beloved husband, father and grandfather, died peacefully on May 11, 2017 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Howard County, Maryland after suffering a stroke at the age of 78. Jacques is survived by his wife, Judee Iliff; children and their spouses, Rachel Burrows (Lee), Matt Fein (Kelly), and Laura Alima (David); and sister, Annette Fein. Jacques was a Pipa, Grandpa, and Grand Pere to his five grandchildren who were incredibly special to him, Sam and Zach Burrows, Adrienne Fein, and Maggie and Max Alima. Jacques was born in Paris, France in 1938 and led a remarkable life. Jacques often spoke of having "five families" - something that truly shaped who he was. Family 1: His birth parents, Szmul and Rojsa Karpik, a Jewish couple originally from Poland who immigrated to France in the hopes of staying safe during World War II. As the Nazi threat grew, the Karpiks had the courage to send their two young children, Jacques (age 3 ½) and Annette (age 1 ½) into hiding. Family 2: the Catholic family who hid Jacques and his sister during the war for close to three years, keeping them safe, healthy and alive. During this time, Jacques' parents were murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp. Family 3: After the war, Jacques and his sister were placed in two Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE) orphanages (in Brittany and outside of Paris) with many other children who survived the war. Jacques remembers this as a happy time, free from the threat of Nazi soldiers. Family 4: Rose and Harry Fein, the Jewish couple who adopted Jacques and Annette in 1948 and brought them to New Jersey, raising them as "regular" American kids. Jacques arrived at Ellis Island when he was 10, not knowing any English, but quickly acclimated to his new home, family and country. Family 5: Jacques had two children, Rachel and Matthew, from his first marriage, and settled in Columbia, Maryland in 1970. In 1986, Jacques remarried to Judee Iliff, welcoming to his life her daughter, Laura. Jacques attended Clark University, followed by Johns Hopkins for graduate studies in Computer Sciences. Jacques joined Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in the early 1970's, where he worked on many projects, including the Space Program, for over 35 years. Jacques and Judee were very active in the Jewish community and loved living in Howard County. In 2014, Jacques retired, allowing him to spend more time with his grandchildren and volunteering for numerous organizations. Jacques dedicated his adult life to "payback" -- which was his phrase for giving back to the community --as a way to repay the kindness of all the people who saved him and his sister during and after the War. Jacques' community activities and accomplishments were plentiful. Just to name a few: He served as a past President of the Jewish Federation of Howard County, was a founder of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Child Survivors, was a weekly volunteer at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, frequently spoke to groups and children at schools about his Holocaust experience, and was co-President/Treasurer of OSE-USA. In 2011, Jacques was honored as Howard County Volunteer of the Year. Jacques' funeral service will be held on Sunday, May 14 at 1:30 p.m., at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center in Columbia, MD, followed by the Internment at Columbia Memorial Park in Clarksville, MD. His family will be sitting Shiva Sunday through Thursday with services at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, the family welcomes visitation from 2 to 5 p.m., at the home of Jacques and Judee. In honor of Jacques' remarkable commitment to helping others, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to one of the following organizations: OSE-USA OSE-USA is affiliated with OSE International (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants/Organization to Save the Children), the group who helped save Jacques and his sister during and after the war. Friends and Alumni of OSE-USA c/o Norbert Bikales 3408 Pointe Gate Drives Livingston, NJ 07039 http://www.ose-france.org U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2126 www.ushmm.org Jewish Federation of Howard County 10630 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400 Columbia, MD 21044 www.jewishhowardcounty.org Special thank you to Gilchrist Hospice Care of Howard County, who treated Jacques and his family with kindness, respect, and dignity throughout this difficult process.Special thank you to Gilchrist Hospice Care of Howard County, who treated Jacques and his family with kindness, respect, and dignity throughout this difficult process.