Fanny Starr
Fanny Starr, a Holocaust survivor who committed herself to ensuring that the murder of 6 million Jews would never be forgotten, passed away on Oct. 30, 2020, in Denver. She was 98. Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky and Cantor Martin Goldstein officiated at the Nov. 3 private graveside service at Mt. Nebo Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
“Fanny was a hero to all who knew and loved her, and I am so proud to call her mom,” said her daughter Hilda.
Mrs. Starr and her late husband Zesa Star began their mission of educating students, synagogues and churches about the agony and lessons of the Holocaust in 1967.
“We were survivors, not teachers,” she said. “We spoke as a team until my husband passed away in 1998. I carried on the mission to promote awareness and understanding of the Holocaust as a living witness.”
Mrs. Starr was born 1922 in Lodz, Poland, to Malka and Laib Granek. She was deported to Auschwitz.
When she arrived in the US in 1951 and came through Ellis Island, she fell to her knees, kissed the ground and said, “G-d bless America.”
On July 8, 2020, Mrs. Starr signed Holocaust and Genocide Education Bill HB20-1336 with Gov. Jared Polis into Colorado state law. It was her last public event.
“Fanny made her life count,” the family said. “She was a lion of a woman who gave a voice to everyone who perished in and survived the Holocaust.”
Fanny Starr is survived by her sister Rena Alter of Tel Aviv; daughters Hilda (Irwin) Kass and Helen Starr; grandchildren Jeff Kass and Darrin (Aspen) Kass; great-grandchildren Caleb, Reese, and Micah Kass; and cousin Helen Diker of Florida.
She was predeceased by her husband Zesa Starr, also a Holocaust survivor, and son Morris Starr.
The family requests that memorial donations be made BMH-BJ or to Holocaust Education programs.
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