H EADLINES
Survivor, Business Owner Suzy Ressler Dies at 93
OB ITUARY
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
EDITH “SUZY” RESSLER,
who died at 93 on July 3, was a
Holocaust survivor, which, of
course, is a feat unto itself.

But it was what she did with
the blessing of survival that
ultimately defi ned her life,
according to her grandson,
David Israeli.

Ressler left behind a
successful, Philadelphia-based
food business, Mrs. Ressler’s
Food Products, a daughter,
four grandchildren and 13
great-grandchildren, as well
as the indelible memory of
her Holocaust experience in
the Auschwitz and Stutthof
concentration camps. She
started speaking about those
experiences later in life at
schools and synagogues, as
well as in the media.

Ressler survived the menace
of Nazi Germany only to face
another one aft er World War
II: communist Russia, which
invaded and took over the
native home, Transylvania,
that she had returned to upon
liberation. So Ressler and her husband,
Emerich, who died in 2004,
“fl ed in the middle of the night
with few possessions,” as a 2017
Exponent story explained. Th e
couple reached the United
States two years later.

But the eventual matriarch
never expected to get here. She
never even thought she would
live past 17, Israeli said.

“She oft en said she was
living on borrowed time,”
he added. “And she certainly
made the most of that time.”
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4 JULY 22, 2021
Suzy Ressler was a Holocaust survivor, successful businesswoman and matriarch of a large family.

Photos courtesy of Michael Israeli
Suzy and Emerich Ressler
founded Mrs. Ressler’s Food
Products in 1954 and built it
from a small chopped liver
company into a national
business, with more than 50
products and 130 employees.

Suzy Ressler still came into
the company’s Philadelphia
headquarters every day into
her 90s.

Israeli, now the president
of the business, learned all he
needed to know from watching
his grandmother.

“Business, like life, is about
relationships,” he said. “Th at’s
what she was really good at.”
Ressler valued relation-
ships because she lost most of
her family in the Holocaust,
Israeli said. But no relation-
ships were more important to
her than those with her family
members. The Resslers had one
daughter, Katherine, who
had four children with her
husband, Joseph Israeli: David
and his siblings Lisa, Michael
and Emily. All four married
and had their own kids, trans-
forming Ressler gatherings
into full-scale family reunions.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Suzy Ressler, sitting, with all 13 of her great-granchildren at a gathering in
2019. Th e matriarch hosted her and three of Ressler’s four kids
loved ones for Shabbat every work for the business.

Friday night. Every Ressler
Just weeks before her death,
born in the U.S. remains in
See Ressler, Page 24
the area, according to Israeli,
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
Author Recounts
Harrowing Childhood Tale
L OCA L
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
JEWISH WRITER
and Chicago
resident Ellen
Blum Barish grew up in the
Philadelphia area, living in
Mt. Airy and attending the
Germantown Friends School.

But for most of her life, a
single troubling memory
overshadowed an other-
wise pleasant childhood: a
car accident at the intersec-
tion of McCallum Street and
University writing teacher,
worked on the book for fi ve
years but thought about it for
well over a decade, she said.

Finally, with
Jenny’s permission, she published the
140-page book through Shanti
Arts Publishing.

Th e author described the
memoir on the back cover as:
“A conversation between two
former childhood friends at a
high school reunion evokes a
traumatic memory and sets a
woman on a transformational
journey.” AT ARDEN COURTS WE
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VirtualSeminars@arden-courts.org FREE DEMENTIA VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Conversations with Dr. Tam Cummings
“Seven Springs” author
Ellen Blum Barish
A Monthly Education Series for the Dementia Caregiver
Photo by Suzanne Plunkett
Communication in Dementia
Carpenter Lane. Th e 1972
accident left Barish with a
missing tooth and jaw and
neck pain, Barish’s friend in a
coma and her friend’s mom,
who was driving the car, in a
wheelchair. Aft er that day, Barish’s
parents fi led a lawsuit to pay
for her dental work — pitting
the families’ insurance compa-
nies against each other — so
the girls were never allowed to
talk about what happened to
them, Barish said.

Until now.

Barish, 62, has published
a book, “Seven Springs: A
Memoir,” about the accident
and its impact on her friend-
ship with Jenny, the other girl in
the car. Barish, a Northwestern
The conversation
In 1997, Barish returned to
Philadelphia for her 20th high
school reunion. Barish’s two
best friends from Germantown
were not in attendance, and
her husband and two daugh-
ters were back in Chicago.

Barish was about to leave
when she noticed Jenny, who
she had not seen since gradu-
ation, in the front hall of the
school. Suddenly, the memories
came rushing back.

Their friendship before
the accident, just two giggly
young girls — Jenny was 12
at the time of the accident,
Barish was 13 — jumping on
the couch in Jenny’s basement,
A Person with Dementia (PWD) is suffering from a terminal
brain disease. Understanding how memory works, knowing
the type of dementia your loved one has, and the stage of
the disease, allows caregivers to target conversation to the
memories that continue to function. Using this skill allows
for interactions with old memory and can lead families to
new insights into their loved one’s younger life. Join us as Dr.

Cummings discusses how you can improve communication
with persons living with dementia.

Tam Cummings, Ph.D., Gerontologist
Author, Untangling Alzheimer’s: The
Guide for Families and Professionals
SPONSORED BY:
© 2021 ProMedica
See Author, Page 9
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JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
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JULY 22, 2021
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