Lenny and Inge Fish.
Inge Hesped Fish was 12 years old when she landed a spot — and a chance for survival — on the famous “kindertransport” out of Nazi Germany. She ended up in New Haven and made a new life with her husband Lenny (who predeceased her); for a half century they were pillars of Congregation Beth El Keser Israel (BEKI) on Harrison Street in Westville. Following is a sermon given by BEKI Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen at Fish’s funeral Tuesday at Shure Funeral Home on George Street; she died Sunday at the age of 85.
Inge Bertie Moser was born in Berlin on 14 August 1926, and grew up in the loving home of her parents Lucille Palnitzky and Bernhard Moser, along with her dear sister Gertrude (Trudy). Her childhood environment was one of substantial financial and cultural wealth, at a time when the larger society around the family was degenerating, as we now know, toward war, depravity and destruction. Her father operated a large factory and socialized with city leaders, and despite their warnings he refused to believe that an advanced society like Germany would follow a madman.
Inge left Berlin as part of a Kindertransport at age 12 shortly after Kristallnacht and survived the war in Manchester, England. During that period, she and her parents lost touch and transatlantic passenger travel became impossible. After the war, the family was able to locate its survivors, and Inge arrived in America at age 16 – in May 1943 – aboard the “Esperance Bay” on her way to her parents’ new home at 12 Garden St. in New Haven.
Her parents – Bernhard & Lucille Moser — had befriended Harry and Fanny Fish, who by coincidence or perhaps Divine Providence had a single and eminently eligible son, then in the Air Force. Inge was not particularly interested, as she had many qualified suitors – as she said later, “There were many fish in the sea.” But Lenny was persistent and ultimately won her heart, and it turned out pretty well for both of them, and among the positive results was a 62-year marriage. They were friends, companions, soul-mates and lovers, a pretty good model of a loving and devoted couple.
Inge was close to her parents and her sister Trudy and Trudy’s family throughout their lives, and indeed she maintained contact with a host of more distant relatives around the globe, as well as Trudy’s family and then Lenny’s family. Whether visiting her sister’s family in Haifa, or corresponding with relatives in France, or making those many phone calls or visits elsewhere, Inge was a nexus of family continuity. Her distinguished relatives around the world were a source of pride for her.
During their years in New Haven and Hamden, Inge worked in a variety of settings, doing bookkeeping or similar clerical or administrative work. Whether it was with Kravitz, Kahn, Rashba or others, Inge was more than a valued worker – she was a friend, a confidant, and almost a member of the family.
Whether playing cards at Tower one or mah jong on Tuesdays, or volunteering at the Shubert, Inge loved to be with people and to live an active life. She was non-judgmental but she spoke directly and did not tolerate excessive pretense. She had a sharp wit and exuberant heart. She loved life and she loved to laugh. She was always finely dressed, kept an immaculate home, and was utterly punctual and reliable.
Despite seeing the horrors of the destruction of European Jewry, Inge retained her faith in the potential goodness of humanity, and worked her whole life to try to make things better for everyone around her. She loved life and embraced it. Her membership in Hadassah, her leadership in the Keser Israel Mr. & Mrs. Club (along with Lenny), her BEKI Sisterhood membership, her volunteerism at the Jewish Home for the Aged, her involvement in civic and political affairs, and her political and financial support for the State of Israel – these were among the expressions of her desire to make the world a little kinder, a little classier, and little more fun and better. These were also expressions of her deeply held Jewish identity, along with her membership and leadership at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel.
It was of course in that latter context that I had pleasure of knowing Inge and Lenny these past 18 years, during much of which they served as directors of the Congregation.
Except for the past year and half, since Lenny’s passing – a time in which Inge felt diminished – except during this period, I knew Inge and Lenny only as a couple – I almost never saw them separately. I only knew them together, as a wonderful and devoted couple. Even during the past few years — years that were increasingly difficult due to the passage of time and Lenny’s declining health, Inge was always at his side, insuring that he had a meticulously kept and happy home, that he had the best medical care and enriching experiences at the theatre or concert hall, that he had a dignified and enjoyable life. And in his final weeks and days, she was at his side every moment, as Gary called several times a day and visited every weekend, insuring that Lenny was surrounded by his loving family in peace to his last breath.
These friends from the BEKI Sisterhood and Hadassah and Jewish Home, like Inge’s family, feel a profound sense of loss at this time; something precious and good is gone. I know that her lifetime of maasim tovim, of communal service, will be a continuing source of blessing for us all.
Along with Lenny, Inge created a strong, loving home for their son Gary, instilling in him a pride in his heritage and devotion to his family and his people, and indeed to the furtherance of justice and kindness among humanity. They were very proud of his accomplishments, as a child and even more as an adult. They sent him to religious school at Keser Israel back in the days of Rabbi Klein, where he celebrated bar mitzva, and in more recent years shared the holidays with him, including each High Holy Day at BEKI.
Inge developed a great love and affection for her grandson Max, and in the past few years she increasingly enjoyed speaking of him and his activities, as he grew to be a fine young man, now in high school. She was very proud to present him when he was visiting in New Haven. This part of her family provided her with love, pride and reassurance in the survival of what was most important to her.
Inge died on Sunday 24 July 2011 at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford after a short illness.
