Dedication by Sarah Kukin Gretah:
This album is dedicated in loving memory of my grandparents z"l, whose yarzheit’s fall during Sefirat Ha'Omer: Doris Kukin (א’ פסח), Dr. Ira Kukin (כב’ אייר), and Charles Gelman (ד’ סיון).
Grandma Kukin was a devout Jew and modest woman. Pesach was her favorite family holiday. She was an excellent baker and made hand-rolled Hungarian pastries. She was active in many philanthropic charitable causes. Above all, she was a devoted wife, loving mother, and a doting grandmother and great-grandmother who left a legacy of generosity and kindness for her family and entire community.
Grandpa Kukin was a successful businessman and philanthropist. He received a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1951, and built a company, Apollo Technologies, that created air-pollution control technology. He was generous to many Jewish causes. He served on the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees and as Chairman of the Board of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Queens, working closely with Rav Henoch HaKohen Leibowitz z"l to build the Kew Garden Hills Campus.
Zayde Gelman was a gentle man who had a beautiful voice and was a chazzan. He survived the Holocaust as a partisan resistance fighter. His entire family in Poland was murdered in the Shoah. The Soviet army awarded him the Order of the Red Star after the war and credited him with “14 killed Nazi officers, 2 derailed trains, 2 destroyed military trucks, and 15 destroyed railroad tracks.” His legacy teaches us not to stay silent in the face of evil.
May their neshamot each have an aliyah and may their memories be a blessing.
- Sarah Kukin Gretah
