Zina (Geller) Pelzman

Age 93, of Brookline, MA formerly of Lutsk, Ukraine, on November 23, 2015. Zina, the sole survivor of her family of six children, was fortunate to survive the holocaust and create a multi-generational family in the United States. 

Beloved wife of the late Abraham Pelzman. Devoted mother of Joseph Pelzman and wife Linda Kern Pelzman, and Lilly Pelzman and husband Jeffrey Borenstein. Adored and loving grandmother of Sarah Felicia Pelzman, Philip Pelzman and wife Dana, Amos Kern-Peretz, Ilana Pelzman, and Jacob Pelzman; Joshua Levitt and wife Halle Heyman, Benjamin Levitt and wife Lesley, and Anna Levitt; Danielle Schulman and husband Daniel, David Borenstein, and Elliot Borenstein. Cherished great-grandmother of Ethan, Boaz, Shai, and Orli, and Raya and Leo, and great-grand dog Archer.

A cornerstone of the Temple Beth Zion community, a grandmother figure to many, Zina will be very much missed. The funeral service will be held at TBZ, 1566 Beacon St., Brookline, on Tuesday, November 24, 2015, at 9:00 am. Following interment at Sharon Memorial Park, memorial observance will be held in Newton at the home of Lilly Pelzman and Jeffrey Borenstein. From Thursday, observance will also be held at the home of Joseph Pelzman and Linda Kern Pelzman, in Gaithersburg, MD, and at Chabad of Upper Montgomery County.

Remembrances in Zina’s honor may be made to any of the many charities she supported during her long life, helping Holocaust survivors, cancer and dialysis patients, and those in need, as well as those groups that continue to teach the Yiddish language and support Israel.

In her retirement, Zina, who lived near Coolidge Corner, Brookline for three decades, volunteered at the TBZ office. She moved to the Springhouse assisted living facility in Jamaica Plain three years ago, and passed away in her sleep, with her son and daughter by her side, at the Seasons hospice, in Milton, where she was serenaded in song by friends and family who held vigil there during her last week of life. Her family wishes to thank the nurses of Seasons who provided Zina with such compassionate care in her final days.