OBITUARY Simon Wojnowich October 15, 1922 – January 17, 2019 Simon Wojnowich passed away peacefully early Thursday morning, January 17, 2019 at the age of 96. He was strongly devoted to his family and to his Jewish faith. Born on October 15, 1922 in Ciechanowiec, Poland, Simon was a teenager when his town was invaded during World War II.
While his parents and most of his siblings perished in the Holocaust, Simon, his older brother Boris, and Boris’ wife Bertha managed to run and hide for safety throughout the war. Following the war, they settled in Havana, Cuba where Simon met his beloved wife of 63 years, María (Mary) Kaplan. Simon and Mary started their family in Cuba where Simon, his brother, brother-in-law Sam Kaplan, and father-in-law Abraham Kaplan began their lifelong business ventures.
Following the Cuban Revolution, and realizing that life in Cuba would not be the same, Simon brought his family to the United States, first to Miami and shortly thereafter to Charlotte. Simon and his family opened Admiration Hosiery Mills first on Griffith Street and then Yancey Road, which then became Highland Mills on East 16th Street, where he continued to work into his 90s. Simon was a generous supporter of Temple Israel and many other Jewish community organizations in Charlotte.
Simon was honored by Elie Wiesel in 1999 with the Elie Wiesel Holocaust Rememberance Medal in tribute to his strength and determination in surviving the Holocaust and in grateful recognition of his dedication to Jewish rebirth and renewal in the State of Israel. Simon was preceded in death by his parents, Lyba and Pinchas Wojnowich. Simon is survived by his loving wife Mary; his brother-in-law Sam (Berta, of blessed memory) Kaplan; his three daughters Lyba (Harold) Rousso, Pearl (Alan) Mann, all of Charlotte, NC, and Rose (Alan) Zimmer of Wilmington, NC; nine grandchildren Tommy (Bethany) Mann, Amy (Evan) Novick, Garret (Sarah) Mann, Melanie (Eliot) Brown, Michael (Chelsea) Rousso, and Heather Rousso all of Charlotte, NC, Brittney (Brian) Samson of New York, Genna Zimmer of Wilmington, NC, and Lindsey Zimmer of Sunnyvale, CA; and eight great-grandchildren Dylan, Claire, and Everett Mann, Emma, Ryan, and Caroline Brown, and Jordan and Daniel Novick, all of Charlotte, NC.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 am on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at the Hebrew Cemetery Chapel, 1801 Statesville Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28206. Interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Jewish Family Services, 5007 Providence Road, Suite 105, Charlotte, NC 28226; www.
jfscharlotte.org; 704-364-6594.
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