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Season Of Anniversaries

Joe and Beatrice Epel celebrate 50 years wedded to each other,
Israel and the Technion.

said, adding that he was active in
Young Judaea throughout his teen
years.
oe Epel has a lot to celebrate
After attending his first meeting of
this spring.
the Technion's Detroit chapter in
It's the 50th anniversary of
1947, Joe threw his energies into the
his marriage to Beatrice,
American Society for Technion (the
Israel's 50th anniversary, and the 51-
university was founded just before
year mark for Epel's involvement with
World War I with money from Ameri-
the American Society for Technion. In
can and German Jews). He has served
honor of all three occasions, the Epels
on the national board of directors for
— Detroiters who snowbird in Florida 28 years and the university's interna-
— are traveling to Israel this month
tional board of governors for 16 years.
on an American
But he does not
Society for Tech-
deserve all the
nion mission. Epel
accolades. "I'm the
Beatrice and Joseph
estimates that this
supporting
will be their 50th
detailist," said Bea.
Epel
visit to Israel.
"When he takes
The couple met
on an assignment
DATE OF MARRIAGE
at a wedding, just
and someone has
four months
to follow up on
march 6 1948
before their own
the details, that's
”
nuptials took
me.
WHERE
THEY
MET
place. "I was asked
Said Joe, "We've
at the last
had
the pleasure of
At a wedding
moment to stand
watching an orga-
in at a wedding,
nization which was
because the bride's
a dream become a
reality. Every time we go there we see
father had pneumonia and they knew
new things going on."
I owned a tuxedo," recalled Epel.
"The bridesmaid was my future
Joe said he realized just how impor-
wife. I was smitten by her, and the rest tant the Technion has been in his life
when he started writing his memoirs
is history. Five children and 12 grand-
(just for family). "I realized I was writ-
children later, we're still talking to
each other!"
ing more about the Technion than my
Because they lived in different cities business," he said. He was an automo-
tive supplier, then sold his business .
— Bea had come in from New York
several years ago.
for the wedding — the courtship con-
The Epels considered making
sisted of only four meetings.
aliyah at one point, but were discour-
"I don't advise this for others, but
aged in the past by the lack of profes-
we took a wonderful chance on each
sional opportunities. "When I was 31,
other and it has worked out beautiful-
I talked to a visiting chemist from
ly," said Bea.
Israel about it, and he said I'd be help-
Not only was Joe taken with Bea,
ing Israel more by making money here
he was taken with Zionism, and early
and sending Belt," Joe recalled.
on. His commitment started long
One of their daughters, however,
before the establishment of the State
lives in Jerusalem, and Epel's brother
of Israel and before the professional
is a professor at Tel Aviv University.
chemist had even heard of the Tech-
Their oldest granddaughter is in the
nion, Israel's premier engineering
Israel Defense Force's intelligence
institution.
corps, and their oldest grandson will
"My father and mother were both
be drafted next month.
Zionists, and I was a Zionist," he

JULIE WIENER
Staff Writer

Beatrice and Joseph Epe• Still talking after all these years.

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