Rosenthal, Ellen Zerline

1922 - 2010  (87 years)

• Name	Rosenthal, Ellen Zerline  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  Born	23 Dec 1922	Allenstein, East Prussia   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15]
  Gender	Female
  Residence	1935	Germany   [2]
  Immigration	14 Feb 1938	New York, New York, New York, USA   [14]
  	Batory
  Residence	1 Apr 1940	Houston, Harris, Texas, USA   [2]
  	Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Daughter
  Died	27 Jul 2010	Houston, Harris, Texas, USA   [1, 5, 6, 16]
  Buried	Emanu El Memorial Park, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA   [1, 5, 16]
  Person ID	I18426	Our Family | Descendents of Hirsch Westheimer (I6684)
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024

  
  

  Father	Rosenthal, Julius,   b. 2 Sep 1890, Grosseicholzheim, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ,   d. 3 May 1967, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA  (Age 76 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Margulis, Erna,   b. 15 Jan 1899, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany ,   d. 11 Feb 1985, Harris County, Texas, USA  (Age 86 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	23 Dec 1921	Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany   [17, 18, 19, 20]
  Family ID	F6950	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Ablon, Alvin Strauss,   b. 24 Jun 1921, Tupelo, Lee, Mississippi, USA ,   d. 31 Jul 1942, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA  (Age 21 years)
  Married	4 Jul 1941	Houston, Harris, Texas, USA   [9, 10, 11, 21]
  Children	+ 1. Brochstein, Louise Gertrude Ablon
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024
  Family ID	F7596	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Brochstein, Harry Harold,   b. 22 Feb 1920, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA ,   d. 12 Mar 2002, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA  (Age 82 years)
  Married	6 Oct 1945	Harris County, Texas, USA   [4, 8, 11]
  Divorced	11 Aug 1990	Harris County, Texas, USA   [4]
  Children	+ 1. Brochstein, Louise Gertrude Ablon + 2. Brochstein, Melanie Maxa + 3. Brochstein, Mark Ral + 4. Brochstein, Stephen Lars
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024
  Family ID	F7603	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  ELLEN ROSENTHAL BROCHSTEIN passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, July 27th, after a long and brave struggle with congestive heart failure. Ellen, 87, was born in Danzig, Germany on December 23, 1922 to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Ellen and her late brother Eric Rosenthal along with their parents escaped Germany in 1939 to begin a new life in Houston. She married the late Harry H. Brochstein in 1946 and together they raised four children. Many weekends were spent together at the family ranch. Ellen also enjoyed traveling to new and distant places, playing mah jong and bridge and attending the symphony and opera. Over the years she came to truly enjoy and to grow close to her grandchildren. Ellen was a very generous woman and always enjoyed treating her loved ones to something special. She took great pride in being very open-minded. Her family respected her strong will and enjoyed her sense of humor. Those traits stayed with her and served her well even until the end.Ellen is survived by her children, Louise and Bob Irwin, Stephen and Helaine Brochstein, Melanie and Stan Mays, and Mark Brochstein; her grandchildren, Laura Abrasley and Julie Childers, Jennifer and Tino DePaulis, Ashley and Neal Block, Tyler Brochstein, Clay Schwartz, Reid Schwartz, Lindsay Mays, Brett Mays and Michael Brochstein; and great-grandchildren, Noah Abrasley, Bella DePaulis and Hunter Block. She is also survived by our dear family friend, Ray Lee Davis. The family wishes to thank Ellen's amazing and loving care-givers who have become extended family: Sonia Reyes, Rosa Caseres, Carla Jackson, and Ada Zapata. Funeral Services will be at 4:30pm on Thursday, July 29,2010 at Emanu El Memorial Park -------------------------------------------------------------------- ELLEN R. Brochstein spoke little English when she arrived in Houston at age 15, an immigrant escaping Nazi Germany with her parents and younger brother. By the time she was in her 30s, she had four children, no discernible German accent and a part-time job typing and editing a pioneering textbook on human sexuality, said daughter Melanie Mays of Houston. "She was always pretty proud of that," Mays said of her mother's work with the late James L. McCary, a clinical psychologist and University of Houston professor who taught human sexuality and wrote one of the nation's first textbooks on the subject. Brochstein, 87, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at her Houston home. She grew up well-to-do but learned to cope with great loss, her family said. She was born Dec. 23, 1922, in Allenstein, East Prussia, to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Wealth didn't shield them In 1926, the family moved to the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), where her father went into the animal hide business. "My mom said they knew everybody who was important politically and thought they didn't have to worry," Mays said. As the situation worsened and friends turned against them, the family sailed to New York in February 1938. From New York, they came to Houston under the sponsorship of Erna Rosenthal's brother, Max Margulis, and uncle Louis Schoenmann. Julius Rosenthal initially worked for the Schoenmann Produce Co. but later opened a grocery store and sold burlap bags to produce farmers, according to a family history. 'Treated like royalty' Ellen Rosenthal went from popularity at a private Danzig high school to being a loner at San Jacinto High School (now Houston Community College's central campus). "She barely spoke English when she came here," Mays said. "She studied with a dictionary until late at night and made straight A's." After graduating from high school in 1940, she married Alvin Ablon. When he died in July 1942, she was a 19-year-old widow with an infant daughter. In 1946, she married Harry H. Brochstein, a Houston attorney. He died in 2002. Ellen Brochstein enjoyed travel, mah-jongg and bridge and attended the symphony, opera and theater. "For years, she had front-row center seats for Theater Under the Stars," Mays said. Brochstein also delighted in her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, the family said. Her first grandchild, Laura Abrasley, recalled overnight visits at the Brochstein home. "All the grandchildren talked about this," said Abrasley, of Los Angeles. "We were treated like royalty when we were there." Roses and resilience Abrasley said Brochstein grew roses in her backyard, and whenever she took her granddaughter to preschool, they would pick a rose together for the teacher. Grandson Brett Mays, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, said he had long talks with Brochstein about her immigrant experience for a history project he did at Stratford High School in Spring Branch. "Before those conversations with her, I never appreciated what she had been through," he said. "It made me realize how strong a woman she was, how she could go through so much and come here and have a successful family life." Brochstein is also survived by a daughter, Louise Irwin, of Houston; and two sons, Stephen Brochstein, of Houston, and Mark Brochstein, of Bastrop. ELLEN ROSENTHAL BROCHSTEIN passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, July 27th, after a long and brave struggle with congestive heart failure. Ellen, 87, was born in Danzig, Germany on December 23, 1922 to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Ellen and her late brother Eric Rosenthal along with their parents escaped Germany in 1939 to begin a new life in Houston. She married the late Harry H. Brochstein in 1946 and together they raised four children. Many weekends were spent together at the family ranch. Ellen also enjoyed traveling to new and distant places, playing mah jong and bridge and attending the symphony and opera. Over the years she came to truly enjoy and to grow close to her grandchildren. Ellen was a very generous woman and always enjoyed treating her loved ones to something special. She took great pride in being very open-minded. Her family respected her strong will and enjoyed her sense of humor. Those traits stayed with her and served her well even until the end.Ellen is survived by her children, Louise and Bob Irwin, Stephen and Helaine Brochstein, Melanie and Stan Mays, and Mark Brochstein; her grandchildren, Laura Abrasley and Julie Childers, Jennifer and Tino DePaulis, Ashley and Neal Block, Tyler Brochstein, Clay Schwartz, Reid Schwartz, Lindsay Mays, Brett Mays and Michael Brochstein; and great-grandchildren, Noah Abrasley, Bella DePaulis and Hunter Block. She is also survived by our dear family friend, Ray Lee Davis. The family wishes to thank Ellen's amazing and loving care-givers who have become extended family: Sonia Reyes, Rosa Caseres, Carla Jackson, and Ada Zapata. Funeral Services will be at 4:30pm on Thursday, July 29,2010 at Emanu El Memorial Park -------------------------------------------------------------------- ELLEN R. Brochstein spoke little English when she arrived in Houston at age 15, an immigrant escaping Nazi Germany with her parents and younger brother. By the time she was in her 30s, she had four children, no discernible German accent and a part-time job typing and editing a pioneering textbook on human sexuality, said daughter Melanie Mays of Houston. "She was always pretty proud of that," Mays said of her mother's work with the late James L. McCary, a clinical psychologist and University of Houston professor who taught human sexuality and wrote one of the nation's first textbooks on the subject. Brochstein, 87, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at her Houston home. She grew up well-to-do but learned to cope with great loss, her family said. She was born Dec. 23, 1922, in Allenstein, East Prussia, to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Wealth didn't shield them In 1926, the family moved to the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), where her father went into the animal hide business. "My mom said they knew everybody who was important politically and thought they didn't have to worry," Mays said. As the situation worsened and friends turned against them, the family sailed to New York in February 1938. From New York, they came to Houston under the sponsorship of Erna Rosenthal's brother, Max Margulis, and uncle Louis Schoenmann. Julius Rosenthal initially worked for the Schoenmann Produce Co. but later opened a grocery store and sold burlap bags to produce farmers, according to a family history. 'Treated like royalty' Ellen Rosenthal went from popularity at a private Danzig high school to being a loner at San Jacinto High School (now Houston Community College's central campus). "She barely spoke English when she came here," Mays said. "She studied with a dictionary until late at night and made straight A's." After graduating from high school in 1940, she married Alvin Ablon. When he died in July 1942, she was a 19-year-old widow with an infant daughter. In 1946, she married Harry H. Brochstein, a Houston attorney. He died in 2002. Ellen Brochstein enjoyed travel, mah-jongg and bridge and attended the symphony, opera and theater. "For years, she had front-row center seats for Theater Under the Stars," Mays said. Brochstein also delighted in her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, the family said. Her first grandchild, Laura Abrasley, recalled overnight visits at the Brochstein home. "All the grandchildren talked about this," said Abrasley, of Los Angeles. "We were treated like royalty when we were there." Roses and resilience Abrasley said Brochstein grew roses in her backyard, and whenever she took her granddaughter to preschool, they would pick a rose together for the teacher. Grandson Brett Mays, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, said he had long talks with Brochstein about her immigrant experience for a history project he did at Stratford High School in Spring Branch. "Before those conversations with her, I never appreciated what she had been through," he said. "It made me realize how strong a woman she was, how she could go through so much and come here and have a successful family life." Brochstein is also survived by a daughter, Louise Irwin, of Houston; and two sons, Stephen Brochstein, of Houston, and Mark Brochstein, of Bastrop. ELLEN ROSENTHAL BROCHSTEIN passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, July 27th, after a long and brave struggle with congestive heart failure. Ellen, 87, was born in Danzig, Germany on December 23, 1922 to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Ellen and her late brother Eric Rosenthal along with their parents escaped Germany in 1939 to begin a new life in Houston. She married the late Harry H. Brochstein in 1946 and together they raised four children. Many weekends were spent together at the family ranch. Ellen also enjoyed traveling to new and distant places, playing mah jong and bridge and attending the symphony and opera. Over the years she came to truly enjoy and to grow close to her grandchildren. Ellen was a very generous woman and always enjoyed treating her loved ones to something special. She took great pride in being very open-minded. Her family respected her strong will and enjoyed her sense of humor. Those traits stayed with her and served her well even until the end.Ellen is survived by her children, Louise and Bob Irwin, Stephen and Helaine Brochstein, Melanie and Stan Mays, and Mark Brochstein; her grandchildren, Laura Abrasley and Julie Childers, Jennifer and Tino DePaulis, Ashley and Neal Block, Tyler Brochstein, Clay Schwartz, Reid Schwartz, Lindsay Mays, Brett Mays and Michael Brochstein; and great-grandchildren, Noah Abrasley, Bella DePaulis and Hunter Block. She is also survived by our dear family friend, Ray Lee Davis. The family wishes to thank Ellen's amazing and loving care-givers who have become extended family: Sonia Reyes, Rosa Caseres, Carla Jackson, and Ada Zapata. Funeral Services will be at 4:30pm on Thursday, July 29,2010 at Emanu El Memorial Park -------------------------------------------------------------------- ELLEN R. Brochstein spoke little English when she arrived in Houston at age 15, an immigrant escaping Nazi Germany with her parents and younger brother. By the time she was in her 30s, she had four children, no discernible German accent and a part-time job typing and editing a pioneering textbook on human sexuality, said daughter Melanie Mays of Houston. "She was always pretty proud of that," Mays said of her mother's work with the late James L. McCary, a clinical psychologist and University of Houston professor who taught human sexuality and wrote one of the nation's first textbooks on the subject. Brochstein, 87, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at her Houston home. She grew up well-to-do but learned to cope with great loss, her family said. She was born Dec. 23, 1922, in Allenstein, East Prussia, to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Wealth didn't shield them In 1926, the family moved to the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), where her father went into the animal hide business. "My mom said they knew everybody who was important politically and thought they didn't have to worry," Mays said. As the situation worsened and friends turned against them, the family sailed to New York in February 1938. From New York, they came to Houston under the sponsorship of Erna Rosenthal's brother, Max Margulis, and uncle Louis Schoenmann. Julius Rosenthal initially worked for the Schoenmann Produce Co. but later opened a grocery store and sold burlap bags to produce farmers, according to a family history. 'Treated like royalty' Ellen Rosenthal went from popularity at a private Danzig high school to being a loner at San Jacinto High School (now Houston Community College's central campus). "She barely spoke English when she came here," Mays said. "She studied with a dictionary until late at night and made straight A's." After graduating from high school in 1940, she married Alvin Ablon. When he died in July 1942, she was a 19-year-old widow with an infant daughter. In 1946, she married Harry H. Brochstein, a Houston attorney. He died in 2002. Ellen Brochstein enjoyed travel, mah-jongg and bridge and attended the symphony, opera and theater. "For years, she had front-row center seats for Theater Under the Stars," Mays said. Brochstein also delighted in her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, the family said. Her first grandchild, Laura Abrasley, recalled overnight visits at the Brochstein home. "All the grandchildren talked about this," said Abrasley, of Los Angeles. "We were treated like royalty when we were there." Roses and resilience Abrasley said Brochstein grew roses in her backyard, and whenever she took her granddaughter to preschool, they would pick a rose together for the teacher. Grandson Brett Mays, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, said he had long talks with Brochstein about her immigrant experience for a history project he did at Stratford High School in Spring Branch. "Before those conversations with her, I never appreciated what she had been through," he said. "It made me realize how strong a woman she was, how she could go through so much and come here and have a successful family life." Brochstein is also survived by a daughter, Louise Irwin, of Houston; and two sons, Stephen Brochstein, of Houston, and Mark Brochstein, of Bastrop. ELLEN ROSENTHAL BROCHSTEIN passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, July 27th, after a long and brave struggle with congestive heart failure. Ellen, 87, was born in Danzig, Germany on December 23, 1922 to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Ellen and her late brother Eric Rosenthal along with their parents escaped Germany in 1939 to begin a new life in Houston. She married the late Harry H. Brochstein in 1946 and together they raised four children. Many weekends were spent together at the family ranch. Ellen also enjoyed traveling to new and distant places, playing mah jong and bridge and attending the symphony and opera. Over the years she came to truly enjoy and to grow close to her grandchildren. Ellen was a very generous woman and always enjoyed treating her loved ones to something special. She took great pride in being very open-minded. Her family respected her strong will and enjoyed her sense of humor. Those traits stayed with her and served her well even until the end.Ellen is survived by her children, Louise and Bob Irwin, Stephen and Helaine Brochstein, Melanie and Stan Mays, and Mark Brochstein; her grandchildren, Laura Abrasley and Julie Childers, Jennifer and Tino DePaulis, Ashley and Neal Block, Tyler Brochstein, Clay Schwartz, Reid Schwartz, Lindsay Mays, Brett Mays and Michael Brochstein; and great-grandchildren, Noah Abrasley, Bella DePaulis and Hunter Block. She is also survived by our dear family friend, Ray Lee Davis. The family wishes to thank Ellen's amazing and loving care-givers who have become extended family: Sonia Reyes, Rosa Caseres, Carla Jackson, and Ada Zapata. Funeral Services will be at 4:30pm on Thursday, July 29,2010 at Emanu El Memorial Park -------------------------------------------------------------------- ELLEN R. Brochstein spoke little English when she arrived in Houston at age 15, an immigrant escaping Nazi Germany with her parents and younger brother. By the time she was in her 30s, she had four children, no discernible German accent and a part-time job typing and editing a pioneering textbook on human sexuality, said daughter Melanie Mays of Houston. "She was always pretty proud of that," Mays said of her mother's work with the late James L. McCary, a clinical psychologist and University of Houston professor who taught human sexuality and wrote one of the nation's first textbooks on the subject. Brochstein, 87, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at her Houston home. She grew up well-to-do but learned to cope with great loss, her family said. She was born Dec. 23, 1922, in Allenstein, East Prussia, to Erna and Julius Rosenthal. Wealth didn't shield them In 1926, the family moved to the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), where her father went into the animal hide business. "My mom said they knew everybody who was important politically and thought they didn't have to worry," Mays said. As the situation worsened and friends turned against them, the family sailed to New York in February 1938. From New York, they came to Houston under the sponsorship of Erna Rosenthal's brother, Max Margulis, and uncle Louis Schoenmann. Julius Rosenthal initially worked for the Schoenmann Produce Co. but later opened a grocery store and sold burlap bags to produce farmers, according to a family history. 'Treated like royalty' Ellen Rosenthal went from popularity at a private Danzig high school to being a loner at San Jacinto High School (now Houston Community College's central campus). "She barely spoke English when she came here," Mays said. "She studied with a dictionary until late at night and made straight A's." After graduating from high school in 1940, she married Alvin Ablon. When he died in July 1942, she was a 19-year-old widow with an infant daughter. In 1946, she married Harry H. Brochstein, a Houston attorney. He died in 2002. Ellen Brochstein enjoyed travel, mah-jongg and bridge and attended the symphony, opera and theater. "For years, she had front-row center seats for Theater Under the Stars," Mays said. Brochstein also delighted in her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, the family said. Her first grandchild, Laura Abrasley, recalled overnight visits at the Brochstein home. "All the grandchildren talked about this," said Abrasley, of Los Angeles. "We were treated like royalty when we were there." Roses and resilience Abrasley said Brochstein grew roses in her backyard, and whenever she took her granddaughter to preschool, they would pick a rose together for the teacher. Grandson Brett Mays, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, said he had long talks with Brochstein about her immigrant experience for a history project he did at Stratford High School in Spring Branch. "Before those conversations with her, I never appreciated what she had been through," he said. "It made me realize how strong a woman she was, how she could go through so much and come here and have a successful family life." Brochstein is also survived by a daughter, Louise Irwin, of Houston; and two sons, Stephen Brochstein, of Houston, and Mark Brochstein, of Bastrop.

  
  

• Sources

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