NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 61

A

aron Feuerstein, who 
became known as the 
“Mensch of Malden 
Mills” for continuing to pay his 
workers even after the textile 
factory he owned burned to the 
ground, died at 95 on Nov. 4, 
2021. 
The devout Orthodox busi-
nessman died at his home in 
Brookline, Massachusetts, after 
being injured in a fall several days 
earlier, the Boston Globe reported. 
“He did not suffer,
” Feuerstein’s 
son, Daniel Feuerstein, told 
Boston 25 News. “He lived a 
long, vibrant and exciting life. His 
community was everything to 
him; from his Jewish community 
in Brookline, and equally import-
ant was the manufacturing com-
munity in the Merrimack Valley 
[of Massachusetts].
”
Malden Mills was a textile 
manufacturer in Lawrence, 
Massachusetts, best known for its 
line of synthetic fleece products 
called Polartec. 
In December 1995, the com-
pany’s redbrick factory complex 
caught on fire, causing one of the 
largest blazes in Massachusetts 
history. Work for the factory’s 
1,400 employees stopped but 
Feuerstein kept paying them.
Feuerstein also bucked the 
trend that saw industrial man-
ufacturing leave the area by 
rebuilding the family-run factory. 
At the time, the Globe quot-
ed Feuerstein as saying, “I’m 
not throwing 3,000 people 
out of work two weeks before 
Christmas.
” 
Feuerstein also explained after 
the fire that he was guided by 
Jewish tradition. “When all is 
moral chaos, this is the time for 
you to be a mensch,
” he said. 
Feuerstein’s grandfather, Henry 

Feuerstein, a Jewish immigrant 
from Hungary, founded Malden 
Mills in 1906, with grandson 
Aaron taking over in 1956. The 
company survived the fire of 
1995, rebranded as Polartec, 
and stayed in the family’s hands 
until 2007. But by then the busi-
ness had seen a downturn and 
Feuerstein took it into bankrupt-
cy. 
A private equity firm then 
bought the factory, shut down 
and moved the brand’s manu-
facturing to Tennessee. In 2019, 
industrial manufacturing compa-
ny Milliken acquired Polartec. 
A graduate of Yeshiva 
University, Feuerstein belonged 
to the Brookline congregation of 
Young Israel. Jewish teachings 
informed how he treated his 
workers. 
“You are not permitted to 
oppress the working man because 
he’s poor and he’s needy, amongst 
your brethren and amongst the 
non-Jew in your community,
” 
he said on 60 Minutes during an 
episode titled “The Mensch of 
Malden Hills” that aired in 2003. 
Feuerstein’s wife, Louise, died 
in 2013. They are survived by 
their sons Daniel and Raphael 
and their daughter Joyce. 

‘Mensch of Malden 
Mills’ Dies at 95

ASAF SHALEV JTA

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Interment was at Clover Hill 
Park Cemetery. Contributions 
may be made to Parkinson’s 
Foundation, 200 SE First St., 
Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131, 
parkinson.org. Arrangements 
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

SYLVIA G. 
SHOLDER, 101, of 
West Bloomfield, 
formerly of 
Ventnor, N.J., and 
Cheltenham, Pa., 
died Oct. 14, 2021. 
She was the cherished 
mother of Michele (Morley) 
Wassermann and the late 
Jeffrey I. Sholder; lov-
ing grandmother of Evan 
Wassermann. She is also sur-
vived by nieces, Ilene Master 
and Gail Finnel. 
Mrs. Sholder was the 
beloved wife of the late 
Frederic R. Sholder. 
The funeral was held 
graveside at Roosevelt 
Memorial Park in Trevose, 
Pa. Contributions may be 
made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 
11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 
48072, yadezra.org/donate; 
or to a charity of one’s choice. 
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman 
Chapel.

ANDOR WEISS, 
74, of West 
Bloomfield, died 
Nov. 9, 2021. 
He is survived 
by his beloved 
wife, Vera Weiss; son and 
daughter-in-law, Robert and 
Amy (Nathan) Weiss; grand-
children, Saul and Theodore 
Weiss; sister and brother-in-
law, Susanna and Michael 
Berger; nephews, Albert 
(Andrea) Berger and Edward 
(Sarah Miller) Berger; many 
other loving family members 
and friends.
Interment took place at 
Nusach Hari Cemetery in 
Ferndale. Contributions may 
be made to a charity of one’s 

choice. Arrangements by 
Dorfman Chapel.

HELEN WILEN, 
89, passed away 
peacefully at her 
home in West 
Bloomfield on 
Nov. 8, 2021. 
She is survived by her three 
children, Steven Wilen, Toni 
(Tom) Babineau and Roger 
(Julie) Wilen; grandchildren, 
Samantha Babineau, Adrian 
Wilen, Ethan Wilen, Benjamin 
Wilen and Alex Wilen; her 
beloved niece, Julie Resnick 
(Teresa Taylor); and son-in-
law Tom’s two older children, 
Brooke Foguth and Brandi 
Freeman.
Mrs. Wilen was predeceased 
by her beloved husband of 
61 years, Stan Wilen; and her 
cherished twin sister, Evelyn 
Resnick.
Interment was at Clover Hill 
Park Cemetery. Contributions 
may be made to Jewish 
Hospice & Chaplaincy 
Network, 6555 W. Maple, West 
Bloomfield, MI 48322, jewish-
hospice.org. Arrangements by 
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Aaron Feuerstein, a factory owner 
who was famously generous to his 
employees, died at 95 on Nov. 4, 
2021.

RICK FRIEDMAN/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES/JTA

