Obituaries

MANUEL IRVING FIEL, 81, of Clearwater, died Dec. 19. A native of Philadelphia, he was a retired pharmacist and a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. He was a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Arlene; daughters and sons-in-law, Sheryl and Larry Feinman, Kathi and Steven Kauffman and Robyn Fiel; brother, Paul Fiel; sister, Lillian Cohen; seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. The family suggests memorials may be made to Congregation Beth Shalom or the Pinellas County Jewish Day School. (David. C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

REBECCA GUTTERMAN, 95, of Clearwater, died Dec. 26. Survivors include her husband, Morris, children, Samuel and Peggy Gutterman and Faye and Sidney Glick; four grandchildren and one great-grandson. (David. C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

LEONARD POLUKOFF, 88, of Clearwater, died Jan. 10. He was born and raised in Detroit, where he was a homebuilder. He moved to Clearwater in 1976 and was the former owner of A & B Glass Service in Dunedin. He was a member of Temple B’nai Israel in Clearwater for more than 30 years. Survivors include, daughter, Beth Stern; two sons, Robert Polukoff and Gerald Polukoff; and four grandchildren. (Sylvan Abbey Memorial Gardens)

BETTY ANN ROTH, 81, of St. Petersburg, formerly of Largo, died Jan. 9. Born in Mount Vernon, NY, she moved here in 1976 from the North Bronx. She was a retired bookkeeper for an auto agency. Survivors include her niece, Susan Patchin. (David. C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

KHANA SAKOVICH, 87, of St. Petersburg, died Dec. 29. Survivors include her son, George; daughter and son-in-law, Maya and David; brother, Yosef; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. (David. C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

WILLIAM SILVER, 93, of Clearwater, died Jan. 2. He was born in Chicago, IL and moved here from Louisville, KY. He was a retired owner of a women’s retail store. He was a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater, its Men’s Club and he was an Israel Bond honoree. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Lois and Peter Pardoll; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Stephanie Silver; brother, Arthur; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. The family suggests memorials may be made to the Florida Holocaust Museum, Menorah Manor or Congregation Beth Shalom. (David. C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

REBECCA A. SILVERMAN, 98, of St. Petersburg, died Jan. 2. A native of Tampa, she moved to St. Petersburg in 1946. She was the former owner of A & S Paint and Hardware in St. Petersburg and had worked in classified sales at the St. Petersburg Times, where she had retired. She was a life member of Hadassah and belonged to Congregation B’nai Israel in St. Petersburg. Survivors include her son, Fred Silverman; sister, Judy Libman. The family suggests memorials may be made to Congregation B’nai Israel of Menorah Manor. (David C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

ALBERT SVARC, 90, of Seminole, died Jan. 13. He was born in Leles, Czechoslovakia, and after the loss of most of his family in the Holocaust, he immigrated to Israel on the Altalina in June 1948. He served in the Irgun Tzvai LeYisrael during the War of Independence. He moved to Chicago in 1955, where he became an electrical contractor and was a member of the IBEW Chicago local. He retired to Seminole in 1988 and was a long-time member of Young- Israel Chabad in Palm Harbor. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Sheila and Gary Wasserman; son and daughter-in-law, Mickey and Sandra Svarc; brother and sister-in-law, Bela and Bozsi Cerny; and two grandchildren. The family suggests memorials may be made to Young-Israel Chabad of Palm Harbor or the Florida Holocaust Museum. (David C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)

MORTON “MORT” WYGODSKI, 90, of St. Petersburg, died Jan. 9. He was born in Bialystok, Poland, and moved to Haifa in 1938 to study electrical/mechanical engineering at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. He served in the Army Scientific Forces during the Israel War of Independence. In 1951 he was selected to work in electrical testing laboratories in New York City. With an American military clearance, he worked with electrical products for the atomic energy program. In 1963, he moved to St. Petersburg to work for Electronic Communications, Inc. (ECI). He also worked for Honeywell and the United Division of Pfizer. At Pfizer, he was founder of the quality assurance laboratory and its manager until he retired. He was on the International committee for Standardization of medical Devices for Pfizer. He was a life member of the National Technion Society and president of its local chapter. A life member of the Florida Holocaust Museum he was also a volunteer in its library. He was a member of Congregation B’nai Israel and a member of Suncoast Investors, where he served as president for many years. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary; daughter and son-in-law, Charlene Wygodski and Steven Bloom; son and daughter-in-law, Avikam and Alexandra Wygodski; and three grandchildren. The family suggests memorials may be made to the Florida Holocaust Museum or Congregation B’nai Israel in St. Petersburg. (David C. Gross Funeral Homes, Beth David Chapel)