It was a pleasure to read your heartfelt narrative about Nell Pekarsky whom I met as "Dan's Mother." My connection with the Pekarsky family goes all the way back to Fall 1948 when I received a Hillel scholarship for my sophomore year at Northwestern, administered by Rabbi Maurice Pekarsky, at the U of C. I held that scholarship through my senior year, graduating in 1951. As a commuting student, I was dearly grateful for the help, as it was the only way I could manage to attend college. When Dan arrived in Ann Arbor in the early 1970's and worked as the director of the religious school of Beth Israel Congregation I jumped at the chance to work the secretarial desk on Sunday with him! I consider it "beschert" that he arrived in time to tutor our oldest son, Martin for his 1975 Thanksgiving weekend bar mitzvah. Dan tutored Martin for his bar mitzvah, held on Thanksgiving weekend of 1975 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan did not attend the ceremony, as he explained "I want to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Mother". What a wonderful gift for a widowed Jewish mother! As tutor he was marvelous, taking Martin to Hillel services, to Chabad services, and imprinting upon him that his Haftorah should be chanted as "a story" which was imparted to his oldest daughter for her 2009 bat mitzvah! When we came to University of Chicago for graduate celebrations at Hillel in June 1986 for our son, Joel, Nell graciously greeted us, as other parents. And when she found out we were Martin's parents, she told us that she always wanted to meet and thank the parents who were kind enough to have her son come home for the holiday! Unfortunately, Dan could not tutor Joel for his August 1977 bar mitzvah. Yet, Rabbi Daniel Liefer at U of C Hillel became a great mentor to Joel, and Nell was always the honored matriach at Hillel. So, the Zand family has always associated the Pekarsky name with warmth, honor, and integrity.
It was a pleasure to read your heartfelt narrative about Nell Pekarsky whom I met as "Dan's Mother." My connection with the Pekarsky family goes all the way back to Fall 1948 when I received a Hillel scholarship for my sophomore year at Northwestern, administered by Rabbi Maurice Pekarsky, at the U of C. I held that scholarship through my senior year, graduating in 1951. As a commuting student, I was dearly grateful for the help, as it was the only way I could manage to attend college. When Dan arrived in Ann Arbor in the early 1970's and worked as the director of the religious school of Beth Israel Congregation I jumped at the chance to work the secretarial desk on Sunday with him! I consider it "beschert" that he arrived in time to tutor our oldest son, Martin for his 1975 Thanksgiving weekend bar mitzvah. Dan tutored Martin for his bar mitzvah, held on Thanksgiving weekend of 1975 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan did not attend the ceremony, as he explained "I want to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Mother". What a wonderful gift for a widowed Jewish mother! As tutor he was marvelous, taking Martin to Hillel services, to Chabad services, and imprinting upon him that his Haftorah should be chanted as "a story" which was imparted to his oldest daughter for her 2009 bat mitzvah! When we came to University of Chicago for graduate celebrations at Hillel in June 1986 for our son, Joel, Nell graciously greeted us, as other parents. And when she found out we were Martin's parents, she told us that she always wanted to meet and thank the parents who were kind enough to have her son come home for the holiday! Unfortunately, Dan could not tutor Joel for his August 1977 bar mitzvah. Yet, Rabbi Daniel Liefer at U of C Hillel became a great mentor to Joel, and Nell was always the honored matriach at Hillel. So, the Zand family has always associated the Pekarsky name with warmth, honor, and integrity.