Adele H. Paskin

Adele Helen Paskin (nee Lauer) passed away March 19 at the age of 97 in South Bend. Adele was born and grew up in Plymouth, Indiana in 1923, the second of two daughters born to Marc and Regina Lauer.
Adele was a fourth generation Lauer of Plymouth and third generation Netter on her mother’s side. Both families were originally from the Alsace Lorraine region of Germany and France.
After high school, Adele attended Indiana University, where she earned a BS in medical technology. Her first job was at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati during World War II where she was in charge of the chemical tests done on patients. When a family member became ill, she moved to South Bend, where she was in charge of the lab at Memorial Hospital.
It was also in South Bend that she met her beloved husband, Henry Paskin, with whom she shared a wonderful life for 55 years. Henry and Adele were very active in the community and were members of many Jewish and civic societies. Together, they served dinner at the Center for the Homeless and helped Jewish Russian immigrants to South Bend settle into their new lives.
Adele served on the board of Temple Beth-El, where she began the Food Pantry to help poor people. She was also a member of the Urban League, Hadassah, B’nai B’rith and the Temple Sisterhood.
Adele also volunteered at the South Bend Museum of Art and the Snite Museum of Notre Dame, where she was a docent for 11 years.
During the turbulent 1960s, Adele was the president of the Women’s Counsel for Human Rights. When her term was up, she organized and became the coordinator of the Panel of American Women, an interreligious and interracial group of women which promoted brotherhood and peace. The panel held events in schools and other public forums.
Apart from her family, Adele felt that serving on the panel and educating the next generation against bigotry was the most important thing she did in her life.
In 2008, a few years after Henry passed away, Adele moved to Andre Place at Holy Cross Village in Notre Dame, where she met many new people who, in turn, became her dear friends.
She always approached life with a positive attitude, dignity and with a commitment to doing the right thing. These were values she passed on to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Adele is survived by her son David Paskin and his wife Patti of Brattleboro, Vermont; her daughter Meira (Maureen) Svirsky and her husband Efim of Jerusalem, Israel; grandchildren Avraham Simcha Svirsky and his wife Miriam Leah of Cedarhurst, New York; Yona Lev Svirsky and his wife Orit of Elad, Israel; Ahava Rachel (Svirsky) Schoenholtz and her husband Zachary of Jerusalem; Yosef Yehuda Svirsky and his wife Ayala of Jerusalem; and Moshe Svirsky, who currently serves in the Israel Defense Forces. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Adina Ruth, Avigail Tamar, Naomi, Yaakov Yisrael, Yitzchak, Tzvi, Pnina Esther, Perla and Talya.
Graveside services were held Friday at the Hebrew Orthodox Cemetery, Mishawaka, Rabbi Meir Bulman, officiating.