Sonia Kurland

Sonia Kurland (Goldberg), 90, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., died May 27, 2013. A Holocaust survivor, she was born in Siedlce, Poland. Her family moved to Brussels, Belgium, when she was six.

Mrs. Kurland survived the war by hiding in various places; as the oldest child, she helped save her entire family, securing false papers and hiding places for each of them, and urging them to escape over the rooftops when the Germans came to arrest Jewish families on their street. Her last hiding place during the war was on a farm in the countryside, where she was liberated by American and English soldiers.

After immigrating to the United States in 1947, she lived in Livingston for 29 years and later brought over the rest of her family. She also resided in Hillside and Boca Raton, Fla., and moved to Buffalo Grove in 2008.

She was a seamstress, sewing her own clothes, knitting sweaters, and crocheting afghans, berets, and shawls.

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She was active at the Margulies Senior Center at the Cooperman JCC, West Orange. She was fluent in French, Flemish, and Yiddish before learning English. She was a member of Sinai Congregation of Hillside and Temple Beth Shalom of both Livingston and Boca Raton. She was a lifetime member of Hadassah.

Predeceased by her husband of 49 years, David, in 1997, she is survived by two daughters, Renee (Sam) Green of Woodmere, NY, and Deborah (Bill) Harrison of Buffalo Grove; a sister, Terry (Chaim) Izraeli of West Caldwell; seven grandsons; and six great-grandchildren.

Services were held May 29 with arrangements by Menorah Chapels at Millburn, Union. Memorial contributions may be made to Margulies Senior Center or Jewish Family Service/Cafe Europa, Florham Park.