Obituaries
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A Life Of Bravery
By Esther Allweiss Ingber
Special to the Jewish News
A
little old lady, who could bare-
ly be seen over her steering
wheel; who cheerfully walked
down Collins Avenue in Miami with
pounds of groceries to cook for visit-
ing family — this same person was once
a teenage firebrand jailed for political
activities in Lodz, Poland.
"She was a woman of amazing brav-
ery," said Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, offici-
ating at services for entrepreneur and
Holocaust survivor Celia Grynbal, 95,
of Bal Harbour, Fla. She died April 26,
2007. Twists of life took Celia to three
continents, where she came to know
five languages: Polish, Yiddish, French,
Spanish and English.
She was born Celia Szyf on Oct.
15,1911, in Klimontow, a village near
Lodz in southern Poland. Her parents,
Ryvka, a baker, and Urish, a Talmudic
scholar, had eight children in all. The
marriages of Celia's two older sisters
were arranged, according to Orthodox
tradition, "but Mother did not want a
chosen husband," said her daughter,
Rosita Krass of Bloomfield Hills. "She
left the family home at 16 and went to
work for her uncle in Lodz, who had a
textile company."
Celia excelled at making brassieres.
Meanwhile, she developed a passion for
communist-socialist politics, like other
SARAH R. APT, 53, of Oak Park, died
April 27, 2007.
She is survived by her husband, Rabbi
David Apt; mother, Nancy Fordonski
of Oak Park; sons and daughter-in-law,
Avrohom Asher and Rena Apt of Palo Alto,
Calif., Shlomo Yaakov Apt of Oak Park;
daughters and son-in-law, Rivkah Fraidel
and Moishe Stern of Toronto, Ontario,
Naomi Minnna Apt of Oak Park, Tova
Yehudis Apt of Oak Park; brother and sis-
ter-in-law, Sidney and Sarah Fordonski of
Oak Park; five grandchildren.
Contributions may be made to Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah or Yeshiva Gedolah.
Interment at Beth Tefilo Emanuel
Cemetery. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
MORRIS BLETSTEIN, 93, of West
Bloomfield, died April 28, 2007.
He is survived by his son and daugh-
ter-in-law, Jack and Marcy Bletstein of
West Bloomfield; daughter, Bev Bletstein
76
May 3 e 2007
young Jews of the time.
She strived to emulate
her hero, Rosa Luxemburg
(1870-1919), the Polish-
born Marxist who influ-
enced German politics.
When Celia, a member
of a Bund (a Jewish social-
ist organization), was
jailed for six months in
1928, her father hired an
Celia Grynba
attorney to smuggle her
out of Poland. Traveling
through Germany to stay with her
brother David in Belgium, Celia wit-
nessed Adolf Hitler give a speech,
a foreshadowing of the impend-
ing doom that would fall upon
her family and the world.
Celia grew bored with Brussels,
where she worked in a tex-
tile manufacturing company, HO
and joined a girlfriend in Su
livelier Paris. There, Celia met
and married Leon Grynbal, also of
her village in Poland. They operated
a subcontracting factory sewing men's
shirts in their apartment.
When war was imminent, the
Grynbals liquidated their holdings
into gold American coins. The family,
including baby Rosita (named for Rosa
Luxemburg) and Celia's younger sister
Mina, hid for four years in Goussainville,
a suburb 30 miles from Paris. The
mayor never turned in the Jews so
all 50 families survived. Every three
months, Celia bravely
returned by train to
retrieve coins buried in
their building's basement.
The money went for rent
and other expenses. Mina,
28, attempted to travel to
visit her husband fighting
in the Resistance but was
killed.
"The whole family,
except for Celia and her
brothers David and Martin
were slaughtered by the Nazis,"
said Rosita.
The Grynbals' sewing
machines and other possessions
had been stolen; so in 1947, the
family joined Leon's brother in
Caracas, Venezuela. Celia and
Leon ran a successful corn-
. UST pany manufacturing men's
_'OR shirts and pants.
Rosita attended Wayne State
University in Detroit, where her uncle
Martin Schiff lived. In 1966, Celia
and Leon — finally retired — moved
to Oak Park to be with their family.
The Grynbals joined Adat Shalom
Synagogue, and Celia belonged to
Pioneer Women. They began going to
Florida; Leon passed away in Detroit
in 1989.
Celia lived with great purpose, kind-
ness and determination, as Rabbi
Krakoff eulogized. She was a voracious
reader, especially interested in news
and politics. With her positive attitude,
Celia conversed with everyone.
Rosita's three children and spouses
adored their Abulita ("grandmother,"
in Spanish). At 4 feet 10, Celia was
"short and sweet," as Michelle (Krass)
Silberstein claimed, but also "a lioness"
when it came to family, said Howard
Krass.
"Her death leaves a big hole in my
heart because, even at 95, she was
involved in our lives on a daily basis,"
he said.
"She created a protective cocoon for
her daughter and grandchildren where
the world was safe, with much love,"
Rabbi Krakoff said.
Celia Grynbal is survived by her
daughter and son-in-law, Rosita
and Allen Krass of Bloomfield Hills;
grandchildren, Howard and Stephanie
Krass, Jennifer Krass and Michael
Bruynesteyn, Michelle and Andrew
Silberstein; great-grandchildren, Julia
and Charlotte Krass, Lila and Adam
Bruynesteyn, Olivia, Charlie and Jack
Silberstein.
She was the beloved wife of the late
Leon Grynbal.
Interment was at Machpelach
Cemetery. Contributions may be
made to the Weitzman Institute, 6735
Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI
48301. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
of Lima, Ohio; grandchildren, Cantor
Deborah Bletstein, Charles Bletstein and
Rachel Bletstein; sisters-in-law and broth-
er-in-law, Goldie Jacobs, Ida Dorenfeld,
Ruth and Marty Sigel; many other loving
family members and friends.
He was the beloved husband of the late
Bertha Bletstein.
Interment at the Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made to
Hospice of Michigan or to Shaarey Zedek
B'nai Israel Minyan Fund. Arrangements
by Dorfman Chapel.
ANITA BODNER, 74, of Novi, died
Bodner of San Francisco; brother and
sister-in-law, Gerald and Sylvia Belfer
of Grand Rapids; grandchildren, Brooke
(Chaim) Leiberman, Benjamin Gerber,
Marissa Gerber, Ben (Rebecca) Waber,
Andrew Waber, Evan and Lauren Kaylin,
Alexandra, Jordan and Brent Kirshner,
Ellana and Casey Williams; sisters-in-law,
Claire Belfer and Stella Seiden.
She was the dear wife of the late
Bernard L. Goodman; sister of the late
Harry Belfer.
Contributions may be made to the
Alzheimer's Association. Arrangements by
Dorfman Chapel.
April 25, 2007.
She is survived her beloved hus-
band, Seymour Bodner; daughters and
sons-in-law, Diane and Mike Gerber
of Farmington Hills, Brenda and Paul
Waber of Philadelphia, JoAnn and Mark
Kaylin of Weston, Fla., Jane Williams of
Steamboat Springs, Colo., Elizabeth and
Todd Kirshner of Ann Arbor; son, Paul
of Westwood, Mass., Sandra and Zave
Climan; son and daughter-in-law, Paul
and Betsy Dawes; grandchildren, Jonathan
and Meredith Hunter, Jason and Victoria
Hunter, Dani Climan, Ronit Holtzman,
Tamar Haimes, Aaron Dawes and Rachel
Dawes; great-grandchildren, Joshua and
Talia Holtzman. She was the wife of the
late J. Oscar Dawes.
Interment at Adat Shalom Memorial
Park Cemetery. Contributions may
be made to the American Diabetes
Association, 30300 Telegraph, Suite 117,
Bingham Farms, MI 48025. Arrangements
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
IDA DAWES, 90, of Westwood, Mass.,
died April 27, 2007.
An executive secretary at Temple Beth El
and Temple Israel for 45 years, Mrs. Dawes
was a member of Temple Israel, its sister-
hood, Temple Beth El and its sisterhood.
She is survived by daughters and
sons-in-law, Harriette and Chris Hunter
MARVIN A. EPSTEIN, 81, of
Coming To Detroit
Commerce, died April 25, 2007.
He is survived by his beloved wife,
Marilyn Epstein; sons and daughters-in-
law, Mitchell and Rhonda Epstein of West
Bloomfield, Bruce and Lori Epstein of West
Bloomfield; daughters and sons-in-law,
Joy and Jeff Harris of Southfield, Jo and