HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD
This edition of The Jewish News arrives in homes on my father, Harry
Techner's 100th birthday. As I think about him on this special day, I think
of how similar his story is to so many in our community.
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Harry Techner
April 11, 1913 - August 7, 1980
My father was born in Poland April 1 1 th, 1913. His mother died during
his birth. My grandfather, Samuel Techner, left to come to America in
1916, to see if he could find work and would send for his family with the
security he could provide for them. Finding work scarce in New York, he
was told to go to Detroit where Henry Ford was building a car company
and hiring thousands of workers and the city would need to be built,
giving him an opportunity to use his skills as a carpenter and builder.
In 1922, at age 9, my father, his three sisters and an older cousin came to America on a boat
to begin life here. He began working at Chrysler at a young age, beginning a life of
self-sufficiency. When my father heard of Hitler and his plan to eliminate the Jews, he
joined the Army at age 26. He once said to me, "If I wasn't prepared to fight Hitler and his
henchmen, who would?"
A proud but quiet veteran (he never spoke of the War until a week before his death), he felt
his service in the Army, however difficult, set the table for the rest of his life.
My father worked his whole life to provide for his family. He never had a mortgage, a loan
or a credit card. He never had a lot of money, and although, at age 67, he died too young, he
also died a very wealthy man.
On this, my father's 100th birthday, I would like to pay tribute to him and our neighbors of
his generation who helped build our community. His story, as similarly told by so many
families today, is an example of the inspiration that has helped build the great Jewish
community we are blessed with today. It is their work ethic and set of values that truly
established the model for all of us to be the best that we can be.
May their legacies and memories continue to bless us all.
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David M. Techner
THE IRA KAUFMAN CHAPEL
Bringing Together Family, Faith & Community
18325 W. Nine Mile Road Southfield, MI 48075
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