52 May 30 • 2019
jn
continued from page 51
soul
of blessed memory
JUDITH SOMMERS,
96, of Bloomfield Hills,
died May 19, 2019.
She was born at the
Hadassah Hospital in
Haifa in December 1922.
Her father, Nathan, came
to America when Judy was 6 months
old.
Although Nathan expected to bring
his wife and baby daughter to America
shortly after he arrived, the U.S.
immigration laws had become more
restrictive and it took nearly seven
years before his wife and child could
emigrate. Judy was nearly 7 when the
family was reunited in Detroit.
Judy was always interested in learn-
ing, public speaking and debate; she
graduated from Wayne State University
with a teaching degree and taught at
Hampton Elementary School in Detroit
until her first child was born. In the
1960s, Judy went back to work part-
time as a substitute teacher and, later,
a math specialist in the Detroit school
system until her retirement in 1980.
In retirement, Judy was a volunteer
at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where
she participated in the Arts to the
Schools program and various other
projects that enabled her to combine
her excellent skills as a teacher and
speaker with her love of art and culture.
In later years, when Judy and Norman
wintered in Florida, Judy volunteered
at the Sarasota Public Library and the
Ringling Museum of Art.
Mrs. Sommers is survived by her
daughters and sons-in-law, Madelene
and Ron Kepes, Lisa and Steve
Gretchko, and Lori and Bruce Abel;
grandchildren, Jenny (Nick) Spadafora,
Beth (Brett) Wanamaker, Amy Abel,
Brian Abel, David Gretchko and
Benjamin Gretchko; great-grand-
children, Kaiden Spadafora and
Luna Spadafora; her sister, Malverne
Reinhart; her niece, Janet Reinhart
Hall; her nephew and niece, Robert
and Susan Reinhart; their respective
children, Elliott Hall, Melissa Hall,
Adlai Reinhart and Julian Reinhart; her
loving caregiver of several years, Karen
McFarland.
She was the beloved wife for 69
years of the late Norman Sommers; the
daughter of the late Nathan and the late
Hinda Gleiber; the sister-in-law of the
late Melvin Reinhart.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to Henry Ford Hospital, Temple Israel,
the Detroit Institute of Arts, Yad Ezra or
a charity of one’
s choice. Arrangements
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
LARRY TRACHT, 79, of Oak Park,
died May 22, 2019.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara
Tracht; brother, Robert Tracht of West
Bloomfield; mother-in-law, Betty
Mitchell; many loving cousins and fam-
ily members; his best boy, Franklin.
Mr. Tracht was the loving son of the
late Herman and the late Lillian Tracht;
dear son-in-law of the late Marty
Mitchell.
Contributions may be made to a
charity of one’
s choice. Interment was
held at Hebrew Memorial Park. Services
were held at the chapel at Hebrew
Memorial Park. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
German Holocaust
Archive Puts Millions
of Documents Online
The International Tracing Service in
Germany has uploaded more than
13 million documents from Nazi
concentration camps, including pris-
oner cards and death notices, to help
Holocaust researchers and others
investigate the fate of victims.
Established by the Western Allies
in the final days of World War II and
initially run by the Red Cross, the
ITS also announced it was chang-
ing its name to “
Arolsen Archives
— International Center on Nazi
Persecution.”
The archivist in Bad Arolsen,
Germany, says, with help from
Israel’
s Yad Vashem, documents with
information on more than 2.2 mil-
lion people are now available online.
Search for documents at
arolsen-archives.org.