It was April of 1945, and the ashes of the Second World War were still warm. Millions had lost their lives, and destruction, despair and ruins were the landscape of the time. From different parts of the world, from different backgrounds and with varying life experiences, Selma and Stanley met.

Stanley (Zelig) was born on January 15, 1909. He spent his formative years and early adult life in Pinsk, Poland, where life was rich in Jewish tradition, family bonds and dreams of Palestine, as Israel was then known. Stanley studied in yeshivot and technical schools, where he displayed exceptional abilities. He invented and designed a number of things, including the mechanical pump upon which the Jews of the Ghetto depended for their water.

Stanley had a large family and a flourishing business, but the life that he knew previously ended suddenly and painfully with the onslaught of the Nazi invasion of World War II. Stanley was taken away to the Russian army and by a tragic twist of fate, found himself in the hands of the Nazis for four agonizing years during which he expected that each day could be his last day alive. Miraculously, he survived and at the end of the war returned to his hometown of Pinsk in search of his family, his home and his identity. He found nothing. Physically, emotionally and mentally debilitated, and in search of help, Stanley registered in a medical clinic. It was there that he met Selma, the young doctor who was treating him.

Selma, originally Sara, was born on September 1, 1919, in Bobruisk, Belarus (Russia). After the Revolution, Bobruisk was under the Communist regime. Selma’s parents, products of Czarist Russia, were scholarly and well educated in Jewish traditions. They had Hebrew prayer books with Russian translations, and in spite of possible reprisals, celebrated Jewish holidays in secret. Education and music were emphasized in her early life, and while deprived of material things, Selma’s family life was quite rich in culture.

In 1940, Selma began studying medicine at Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Medical School. One year later, in 1941, the war interrupted her medical studies. She was separated from her parents and family members, whom she never heard from again, learning later that they had all been brutally killed by the Nazis. With no one else left alive, Selma and her sister Bella were evacuated to Omsk, Siberia, were they were forced to endure two incredibly difficult years. In 1944, Selma completed her medical training at the Moscow Medical School, and immediately upon finishing was sent to work as a clinical physician in Pinsk.

In April, of 1945, Selma and Stanley met. Their mutual background of loss, loneliness and the need for Jewish kinship led to bonds of understanding, friendship, love and ultimately, marriage. Their marriage was only the beginning of a remarkable journey that has lasted 65 incredible years.

The newly married couple spent two years in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany, dreaming always of going to the United States. Their first child, Francine (Frieda), a beautiful symbol of their new beginning, was born in Heidelberg. The Mitchels came to the U.S. in 1948, penniless, with no place to stay, no knowledge of the English language and with a one-year-old child in their arms. Their goals, their strong work ethic, and an indomitable will to survive enabled them to overcome almost impossible obstacles.

Living in Brooklyn and wishing to resume her medical career, Selma worked in hospitals day and night for 10 grueling years until she became a licensed physician with a specialty in Pediatrics. In September of 1957, Selma and Stanley were blessed with the birth of their second child, Tamara, who brought them much joy and enriched their lives.

Stanley always worked hard to support his family. He was associated with Westinghouse and Bendix Enterprises in the coin-operated vending machine business. Business flourished, and in 1956, Stanley, Dr. Selma and their two daughters left Brooklyn for Paramus. Dr. Mitchel began a Pediatric practice and Stanley, while continuing his coin-operated vending business, ventured into real estate in New Jersey and upstate New York.

One of the first things the Mitchels did after settling in Paramus was to become members of the newly formed JCCP. At that time the entire membership consisted of just a few families and there was no synagogue building. Religious services were conducted in the Paramus firehouse and later in the basement of Bamberger’s, soon to become Macy’s department store. Selma and Stanley contributed to the building of our current synagogue and participated in the groundbreaking ceremonies.

Francine was the first child from Paramus to attend Yavneh Academy, then located in Paterson. It was in fifth grade at Yavneh that Francine met her future husband, Richard Winters. For Stanley and Selma the JCCP became a spiritual sanctuary and an integral part of their family life. With the blessings of our rabbis, it was here that Selma and Stanley celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, the naming of their grandchildren, the grandchildren’s Bat and Bar Mitzvahs, the naming of their great-grandchildren and many other meaningful events.

Selma and Stanley Mitchel are longtime members of the Board of Governors and have always supported JCCP fundraising campaigns and Israel Bonds, and sponsored numerous Oneg Shabbats as well. Their gift to the JCCP, the Holocaust sculpture “Zachor” at the front of our sanctuary, was dedicated by the Mitchels after many years of consideration and planning, and will serve as a lasting memorial for generations to come.