Family Story Finder
The sweep of family history across the generations
Adventures in Israel—Walter and Joanne
Two of the Ruby offspring went back to Israel for significant periods.
Demise of the cultured Lewi family
Five siblings who stayed true to German ideals until the bitter end
Eilertsens by the lake
Ed was the rector at Saint Martin's By the Lake in Minnetonka Beach, Minn. The family was raised in towns around the lake region west of Minneapolis, including in the church rectory
First grandchild
Twyla Ariel Eilertsen Ruby was born on August 7, 1985
Ghosts of Weißensee—the cemetery played on
How did Betty Katz meet her end in February 1942?
Love conquers all as Gerhard marries Ilse
Two young Berliners make a modern marriage—with lasting consequences
Mel Brenner
Mel accomplished many things in life, but his life’s greatest moments happened during the Battle of the Bulge
Rosa’s fateful choice
Rosa Feidt was the only Lewi sibling who got out, to her everlasting remorse
Stan at Brant Lake
Stan summered at a Jewish summer camp in the Adirondacks.
The Rubys in Israel—1961 sabbatical
Our family’s amazing year of discovery and connection
When Ed Eilertsen "crossed the bridge"
In a dramatic moment while crossing the Mississippi River, he broke with his parents' austere Lutheranism for a more ecumenical approach
Ze'ev and Penina Sharon of Kibbutz Afeq
A pioneer to Palestine in 1936, Ze’ev married Penina and they did their part to build the state of Israel as founders of Kibbutz Afek.