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.

