64 | JUNE 9 • 2022 

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OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

M

iriam Brysk, 87, of Ann 
Arbor, drew her final 
breath on May 28, 2022. 
She joins her parents, Bronka 
and Heniek Mason, and her 
beloved family lost in the 
Holocaust. 
Miriam was born 
March 10, 1935, in 
Warsaw, Poland. Her 
childhood was one of 
war-time survival in the 
Lida Ghetto and with 
the Russian Partisans in 
the forests of Belarus. 
She and her family were 
refugees for two years after 
the war before coming to 
the United States to restart a 
life with the help of Bronka’s 
older brothers who had 
come to the U.S. before the 
war. They became proud citizens 
of the U.S., enjoying the freedoms 
this country offered. 
She started school at 12, not 
knowing English or a normal 
life. Despite that, she graduated 
high school at 18 and went on to 
college.
Miriam was introduced to 
Henry Brysk through her mother’s 
cousin who was in the ILGWU 
with Henry’s father. Henry was 
seven years older and had gotten 
his Ph.D. in physics at 23, having 
also been a child survivor of the 
Holocaust in France. He valued 
her curiosity to learn and encour-
aged her to pursue her love of 
science. As a result, she went on to 
get her M.A. and, while raising her 
daughters, got her Ph.D. in micro-
biology. Miriam and Henry would 
have been celebrating their 67th 
anniversary this June.
Miriam ultimately became a 
research scientist with her own 
research lab and became a pro-
fessor at the University of Texas 
Medical Branch, doing skin dis-
ease research. She published 87 

scientific papers and was a cham-
pion of women trying to get ahead 
in science and medicine. 
She was an artist as well, hav-
ing done painting, stained glass 
work and photography as hobbies. 
She was fascinated with 
computers and became a 
digital artist after retiring. 
Miriam took a trip shortly 
after retiring to see where 
her family was killed in 
Poland, and she devoted 
much of her retirement 
to creating art and books 
memorializing the 6 mil-
lion. Her art was displayed in 
several communities around 
the country. Her autobiog-
raphy sold on Amazon and 
was awarded two medals for 
excellence.
Despite all her accomplish-
ments, Miriam’s proudest achieve-
ment and greatest love was her 
family. Her daughters, Judy Brysk 
and Havi Mandell, were encour-
aged to develop their minds and 
value family. Being a Holocaust 
survivor, she stressed the impor-
tance of persevering and being 
worthy of the gift our family had 
in being here.
Miriam also adored her grand-
children, Josh and Ben Rocher, 
Hannah (Sean) Korcal, David 
(Taylor) Mandell, and Sarah 
(Edward) Hambleton. She felt 
blessed to have lived long enough 
to have three great-grandchildren, 
Elian and Reid (Mandell) and 
Arielle (Korcal).
Interment was at Washtenaw 
Memorial Park. Contributions 
may be made to Hadassah, 40 Wall 
St., New York, NY 10005, hadas-
sah.org; or Pardes Hannah of Ann 
Arbor, c/o Oran Hesterman, P.O. 
Box 511322, Key Colony Beach, 
FL 33051, pardeshannah.org/con-
tribute-omena. Arrangements by 
Ira Kaufman Chapel. 

A Dedicated 
Scientist

Miriam Brysk

ANDREA 
JEROSS, 76, of 
Boynton Beach, 
Fla., died June 
1, 2022. 
She is sur-
vived by her husband of 55 
years, Michael Jeross; son 
and daughter-in-law, Mark 
Jeross and Alona Sharon; 
daughter and son-in-law, 
Laurie and Sam Zeidman; 
grandchildren, Jacob and 
Madison Zeidman; brother 
and sister-in-law, Stuart 
and Debbie Weisblatt; 
sister and brother-in-law, 
Denise and Jerry Thrope. 
Mrs. Jeross was the 
devoted daughter of the 
late Harold and the late 
Ethel Weisblatt. 
Interment was at 
Machpelah Cemetery. 
Contributions may be 
made to National Multiple 
Sclerosis Society, 733 Third 
Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, 
NY 10017, nationalmssoci-
ety.org; or Yad Ezra, 2850 
W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, 
MI 48072, yadezra.org/
donate. Arrangements by 
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

FLORENCE 
LEVY, 92, of 
West 
Bloomfield, 
died May 27, 
2022.
She is survived by her 
daughter, Carol Berger; 
son and daughter-in-law, 
Richard and Jill Levy; 
grandchildren, Joey 
(Jillian) Berger, Shelby 
(Maria) Berger and Nicole 
Levy; adoring great-grand-
children, Carson Berger, 
Cameron Berger, Phoenix 
Berger and Nelli Berger; 
many other loving family 
members and friends. 

Mrs. Levy was the 
beloved wife of the late Ira 
Levy; the mother of the late 
Howard Levy; daughter of 
the late Rose and the late 
Sam Sisskind. 
Interment took place 
at Clover Hill Park 
Cemetery in Birmingham. 
Contributions may be 
made to a charity of one’s 
choice. Arrangements by 
Dorfman Chapel.

VERONICA 
HILDESHEIM 
LEYDESDORFF, 
106, of Brussels, 
Belgium, died 
May 28, 2022.
She lost 114 
relatives in 
the Holocaust, 
including her 
parents and sib-
lings, and yet, 
throughout her entire life, 
she remained optimistic 
and kept a positive attitude. 
She loved her family and 
proudly displayed family 
photos and stayed in touch 
via Facetime.
Mrs. Leydesdorff is sur-
vived by three daughters, 
Sonja (Robert) Kass of 
Huntington Woods, Sara 
(Michel) Guillaume (of 
Belgium) and Maya (Jaap) 
Schilo (of Amsterdam); 
seven grandchildren, 
Jeremie (Sheri Rosen) 
Kass, Elias Kass, Adena 
(Jeffrey) Rose, René (Yael) 
BenHaim and David 
(Anne-Catherine Goor) 
Guillaume, Danny (Esty) 
Schilo and Tanya (Yaakov) 
Safir; 17 great-grandchil-
dren, Corban and Dara 
Kass, Arlo and Abel Kass, 
Anna and Nolan Rose, 
Yoav, Rafael and Avigail 
BenHaim, Noah and 

