Ilse Loeb

Ilse Loeb, age 94 of Boca Raton, FL. (formerly of Monroe Township NJ, Chestnut Ridge, NY, and Vienna, Austria), died on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. She was the beloved wife of the late Walter Loeb for more than 60 years.  Ilse was the daughter of the late Max and Elvira Morgenstern.  She was predeceased by her brother Felix Rosenberg and his wife Marion Rosenberg of Chicago, and her brother-in-law Bernard Loeb, and his wife Ruth Loeb of Brooklyn, NY.

She is survived by her four children, Michael Loeb (wife Diane Dragoo) of Sausalito CA, Evelyn Loeb Garfinkel (husband Miles) of Delmar, NY, Judy Schreier (husband Stephen) of Boca Raton FL, and Debbie Cohn (husband Steven) of Miami Beach, FL. 

Ilse is survived by seven grandchildren (Elise Loeb, Julia Kantarovsky and her husband Yoni, Danielle Garfinkel, Alison Cohn, Jeff Cohn, Cayla Schreier, Lana Schreier) and by two great grandchildren (Eitan and Mati Kantarovsky).

She is also survived by three nieces (Esther Goldman, Beatrice Sommers, and Dina Lowenstein), and several great nieces and great nephews and is predeceased by one nephew (Rafael Loeb).

Ilse was a retired seamstress and dress alteration expert, and a longtime member of Temple Israel of Natick, MA, Temple Beth El of East Windsor, NJ, as well as a longtime member of Monsey Jewish Center in Rockland County, NY.  She was also a past president of B’Nai B’rith of Rockland County.

Ilse was a Holocaust survivor. She survived three long and difficult years of hiding from the Nazis under very difficult conditions. Her life somewhat paralleled the life of the famous Anne Frank. Ilse received the exact same letter from the Nazis on the same day in July of 1942 that Anne Frank’s sister Margot received. The letters were mandatory orders for both Ilse and Margot to report to the train station at midnight in order to be deported to a work camp. The letters were the catalyst for both Ilse and the Frank family to make the decision to go into hiding immediately. 

Ilse was hidden from the Nazis by several selfless people: Ilse’s cousin Edi Stark and his fiance Nikki and Johtje and Aart Vos. The Vos family saved 36 people from certain death, including Ilse.

Ilse’s parents were unable to leave Vienna, and ultimately were murdered in a death camp.  Ilse survived through sheer will along with the selfless help of rescuers, who risked their own lives.

Following the war, Ilse traveled to the US and settled in Chicago. It was there where she met and married Walter Loeb, a Holocaust survivor from Germany. 

After her experiences during the Holocaust, Ilse’s life mission was to educate future generations about the atrocities she endured and to inspire others to stand up to injustice. She was a founding member of the Hidden Children of Rockland County, as well as the Speakers Bureau for Holocaust Survivors of New Jersey, and the Hidden Child Foundation/Anti Defamation League of New York. She also was the curator of the “Hidden Children” exhibit which was displayed in various museums and schools throughout the East Coast.  Ilse spent countless hours educating students about the Holocaust. There is a permanent plaque in Ilse   and Anne Frank’s honor along with a tree, providing recognition of Ilse’s contribution to Holocaust education at John Witherspoon Middle School in Princeton, NJ.  Ilse never lost her strong   faith in Judaism, and with much encouragement from Walter, set herself a goal to learn to read Hebrew at the age of 80.

She was called to the Torah soon after as a Bat Mitzvah, and felt it was one of her greatest accomplishments.

 The service will be held on Sunday, August 4th, 11:30am, at the indoor Chapel at Cedar Park Cemetery Paramus, NJ 735 Forest Avenue Paramus, NJ 07652, 201-262-1100. Internment will take place immediately following the services.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ilse’s memory can be made to the following: The Holocaust Museum Center for Tolerance and Education at RCC, Suffern, NY. Please call at:

 845 574 4099    https://www.holocauststudies.org/ (Click on Donate/Make a Tribute Gift)

 OR TO:

Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY.

Please call at: 516 571 8040   https://www.hmtcli.org Click on Donate/Tribute Cards

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