Obituaries

Obituaries from page 73

World's Oldest Jew, 111

Michael Elkin
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

S

he saw it all. And when your age
is 111, that's a wealth of history.
Fannie Forman Buten,
believed to be the oldest Jewish person in
the world, died Sept. 24, 2010.

Before her death, which was brought
on by a stroke, the suburban Philadelphia
resident was listed as the "oldest living"
Jewish person "whose age had been veri-
fied:' according to Robert Young of the
Gerontology Research Group.
Buten, also the oldest person in
Pennsylvania and 37th oldest in the world,

LEON
KOHLENBER

1930 - 1965

SADLY MISSED BY,
MARTIN, SALLY, MARIAN
YOUR. NIECES, NEPHEW
AND FRIEND

/83 '5 West Niue Mile Road
Southfield, All 48075
248-569-0020
Fax: 248-569-2502
wuwirakamfillau.cont

74 October 7 • 2010

Obituaries

was a living history book, said her son-in-
law, S. Ty Steinberg. He noted that she wit-
nessed the invention of the telephone, tele-
vision, flight, automobiles and "the wonder
of cell phones:' as well as lived through two
world wars. As a golfer, she scored a hole-
in-one in her 70s.
Buten entered the workforce
as a secretary and was active
throughout her life in Jewish
concerns. Among her many chari-
table endeavors, she worked at
the now-defunct Elder Craftsmen,
which provided local elderly arti-
sans a sales outlet for handmade
Fannie
goods, in Philadelphia.
Charity begins at home, she taught; but
she also viewed the world as her homefront.
"It is easy to give money, but the most
important thing is to give of one's self'
Buten said.
Buten was born in Austria in 1899 —
according to the manifest at Ellis Island,
she arrived in the U.S. at age 2. Steinberg,
however, says there is no birth record.
That presented a problem when Buten
applied for a passport to visit Israel
decades ago, but eventually she sought

the help of a Pennsylvania state senator to
cut through the red tape.
The incident was in keeping with
the characteristics described by Rabbi
Seymour Rosenbloom of Adath Jeshurun
as a woman filled with "immense resil-
ience and stoicism:'
And one with a sense of
humor.
"She was so well-known for
her milk sponge cakes with coco-
nut:' sthd her daughter, Marjorie
Steinberg. "And when you'd go to
blow out the candles, the coconut
she sprinkled on top would be all
Buten
over the place:'
Her greatest joy, the Steinbergs said,
was her family.
"The growth of her family was of
the utmost importance to her, and she
loved cooking the favorite dishes for her
surviving 12 grandchildren and 14 great-
grandchildren:' Ty Steinberg said.
Highlighting her historic age upon her
passing probably would have angered her
mother, said Steinberg. "She always lied
about her age, so this probably wouldn't
please her!' ❑