Milwaukeean Lauren Anton, nee Zalkin, died July 16 of cancer. She was 46.
She was a teacher at the Torah Academy of Milwaukee for 19 years. She also worked with her husband, Rabbi Yerachmiel (Rocky) Anton, at Jewish Experience of Madison, where she was office manager since the organization’s founding in 2005.
She was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y., studied at the Torah Academy of Suffolk County and participated in the National Conference of Synagogue Youth. She studied at the Bnot Torah (a.k.a. Sharfman’s) seminary for Orthodox young women in Jerusalem.
She met her husband, a Milwaukee native, when he was studying at a kollel in Jerusalem. They married in 1987. They came to Milwaukee from Israel in 1994 and joined Congregation Beth Jehudah.
Feige Twerski, wife of Rabbi Michel Twerski of Beth Jehudah, and Alan Borsuk, senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette University Law School and writer on education topics for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, both knew Anton and wrote articles about her after her death.
In his article for a recent issue of the Orthodox newspaper Yated Ne’eman, Borsuk wrote that Anton “had warm, relaxed relationships with people of all backgrounds, connecting and motivating all who knew her. She succeeded in being nonjudgmental and accepting even as she made it clear what the paths of Torah-true living were and how those paths were both right and appealing.”
He also wrote that Anton “was someone with so much strength that even her children and closest friends were unaware for several years that the cancer she battled five years ago had returned.
“She never complained about the pain she was in, never asked for sympathy for the battle she was fighting. She was too busy teaching, managing the office of JEM, piloting the course of her family, and continually — until the end — learning and growing. It was not until several days before her passing that her situation became known to others.”
Twerski’s article appeared in the Aug. 7 issue of Ami magazine. Twerski recalled an incident when a young woman asked for Anton’s guidance and was told that “everything G-d does is good.”
“Look honey,” Twerski quoted Anton as saying, “manure doesn’t look good and doesn’t smell good, but it makes things grow. Not everything in life is pleasing to the senses, and it may even be temporarily distressing, but at the end of the day, it makes us grow.”
Twerski and Borsuk both wrote that Anton had an especial concern about the commandments against gossip and making negative remarks about people (lashon hara or evil speech).
“Though laid-back in personality and fazed by nothing,” Anton “had a zero-tolerance policy about lashon hara. Disparaging others always evoked a sharp response,” Twerski wrote.
In addition to her husband, Anton is survived by her children Nechama (Avraham) Mayerfeld, Meir Anton, Menucha (Dovie) Fogel, Mordechai Anton, Yisroel Anton, Esti Anton, Dassi Anton, Eliyahu Anton, Miriam Anton, Shlomo Anton and Rafi Anton; parents Sarah and Donald Zalkin of New York City; siblings Dovid (Yael) Zalkin, Suzanne (Dovid) Berger and Gabbi (Yitzhak) Rubin; and three grandchildren.
Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbis Benzion and Michel Twerski officiated at the funeral service July 17 at Beth Jehudah, followed by burial at Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel Cemetery.
The family suggests memorial contributions to Jewish Experience of Madison.
Lawrence “Lazy” Orenstein died July 24 of old age. He was 87.
He was a Milwaukee native who graduated from West Division High School in 1944 and Wisconsin State Teachers College in 1954. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II in the South Pacific. He became the national sales manager for Jack Winter, Inc., in Milwaukee, and was a member of the Men’s Apparel Club.
He was a member of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue; and was active in the Labor Zionist Organization, Habonim, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee and other organizations, according to his family. His special interests included Judaism, sports and reading.
He is survived by his wife Miriam (nee Silberman); daughters Judy Dorfman and Marsha (Bruce) Loeb; son Josh (Stacy) Orenstein; brothers Shimon Orenstein and Sammy (Dori) Orenstein; 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Levi Emmer officiated at the funeral on July 26. Burial was in Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel Cemetery.
The family suggests memorial contributions to NA’AMAT USA, the Jewish Home and Care Center or Habonim Camp Tavor.
Former Milwaukeean Ruth Rozran, nee Leno, of Bonita Springs, Fla., died July 27 of complications of age. She was 96.
She was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and studied for two years at a business college. She was a homemaker.
Her husband, attorney Alfred Rozran, died in 2009. She is survived by daughters Judith Goodman and Janet Rozran, and brother Manny Leno.
Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated at the funeral on Aug. 2. Burial was in Second Home Cemetery.
Edwin L. Sanchick of Glendale died July 27. He was 90.
He was born in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II.
He was a doctor of optometry and worked as an optometrist in Milwaukee.
He is survived by his wife Molly (nee Teitleman); daughters Myra (Todd Ruckun) Sanchick and Donna (Edwin) Greenberg; and six grandchildren.
Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Jacob Herber officiated at the funeral on July 30. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.
Former Milwaukeean Burton Stein died July 3 in La Jolla, Calif. He was 89.
He was born in Milwaukee and graduated from North Division High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked in real estate in both Milwaukee and La Jolla.
He was a member of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue, and was a former president of the local Zionist Organization of America. According to his family, he was an avid golfer and sportsman.
His wife Ruth (nee Lerner) died in 2012. He is survived by son Randy Stein of California, daughter Sheina Cagen of Texas and sister Haifa Shechter of Israel.
The Am Israel Mortuary of San Diego handled arrangements. Rabbi Yudell Reiz officiated at the funeral on July 5. Burial was in El Camino Memorial Park-Olam Haemess Orthodox Lawn in San Diego.
Jordan Weigler, D.D.S., of Mequon and Scottsdale, Ariz., died June 10 of prostate cancer. He was 76.
He was born in Milwaukee and graduated from Washington High School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Marquette University School of Dentistry.
He served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He did training in oral and maxillofacial surgery in Boston and New York City.
He operated an oral surgery practice with offices in Cudahy, Milwaukee and Brookfield. He taught at Marquette University, where he was adjunct professor of oral pathology; served in many capacities for the Milwaukee Dental Association; and served as president of the Wisconsin Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
He was a member of Congregation Beth Israel (now Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid) in Milwaukee and of Congregation Or Chadash in Scottsdale. He was honored by Jewish National Fund and was a member of the King David Society of Israel Bonds.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patti (nee Miller); daughters Amy Hoffman of Scottsdale and Debbie (Aaron) Bernstein of Milwaukee; son Steven (Wendy) Weigler of Denver; sister Roz Levin; sister-in-law Audrey Laufman; brothers-in-law Joel (Linda) Miller and Monte (Karen) Miller; four grandchildren; and 22 nieces and nephews.
Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Jacob Herber officiated at the funeral on June 12. Burial was in Second Home Cemetery.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Milwaukee Jewish Day School.
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