Irving Lumerman
Holocaust survivor, US Army veteran and former longtime Denver resident Irving Lumerman died Nov. 29, 2025 in Efrat, Israel. He was 88.
A funeral was held Dec. 1, 2025 at the Kfar Etzion Cemetery in Israel.
Mr. Lumerman was born May 3, 1937 in Lukow, Poland, a village near Lublin. His family survived the Holocaust hiding in the forests around Jozefow, Poland, at times under the protection of resistance fighters.
“We hid with about 150 other people,” he told the IJN in a 2015 interview. He and his family were liberated by the Soviets in 1944.
After the war, his family rotated through a number of DP camps before moving to the US in 1951.
The family settled in New York and Mr. Lumerman studied electrical engineering at CUNY. As part of his Army service, he was stationed in France for one year.
In the mid 1960s, Mr. Lumerman and his wife Dorothy moved to Denver, where they raised their family.
Mr. Lumerman was a longtime member of EDOS. The Lumermans were among the co-founders of the Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy, which merged with Herzl Jewish Day School, forming Herzl-RMHA and providing its junior and high school components, today part of Denver Jewish Day School.
In 2018, the Lumermans made aliyah to Israel. Mrs. Lumerman passed away in 2021.
Mr. Lumerman was immensely proud of his grandchildren serving in the IDF. In 2021 he shared a picture in the IJN of him with his grandson Tzvi Hirsch, then an IDF officer; Lumerman was wearing a T-shirt with the Hebrew message, “My grandson is an officer.”
Mr. Lumerman is survived by children Jeffrey (Simona) Lumerman, Jodi (Maurice) Hirsch and Jonathan (Dina) Lumerman; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Agnete Cohen
Denmark native Agnete “Nete” Cohen died on January 16, 2026. She was 95. A service was held on January 19 at HEA, followed by interment at Rose Hill Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary handled the arrangements.
Mrs. Cohen studied nursing in Denmark, then moved to Germany to work on a US military base. There, Mrs. Cohen met Phillip Cohen, a captain in the US Army. Agnete and Phillip were married in November, 1959. Mr. Cohen died in July, 2021.
Outside of her home, Mrs. Cohen worked as a professional potter with Castle Clay Artists.
“She focused on functional pottery using both wheel and handbuilding techniques,” her family said. “She was a respected artist in the Denver community.”
Survivors are children Basha (Jim Walsh) Cohen, Elisa (Peter Bunch) Cohen and David (Debbie) Cohen; grandchildren Jessica Cohen, Mariasha (Nicholas) DiBenedetto, Zaya Bunch and Shaina Walsh; and great-grandchildren Enzo and Ripley DiBenedetto.
Contributions may be made to Denver Rescue Mission, the ACLU or the North Side High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation.
Norman Kirsch
Children’s welfare advocate Norman Kirsch passed away on January 16, 2026, at the age of 75. A service was held on January 25 at Feldman Mortuary, which made the arrangements.
A native of Pittsburgh, Mr. Kirsch received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He then graduated from DU with a master’s degree in social work.
Mr. Kirsch became an administrator of programs for Arapahoe County and the state of Colorado.
Mr. Kirsch was known for his compassion for children’s welfare as was seen in his work for the state of Colorado as a coordinator for Colorado’s state collaborative management program for child welfare.
Mr. Kirsch’s family noted that he was a volunteer firefighter for the Foothills Fire Dept. for 25 years.
“Through his work in both the social work as well as a volunteer firefighter, he fostered many lasting friendships,” the family said.
Survivors are Mr. Kirsch’s wife Marilyn; daughter Rachel (Keffin); granddaughters Evelyn and Delilah; sister Judy (Howard) Danzinger; and sister-in-law Nedra Boyer.
Contributions may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Foothills Fire and Rescue or the ADL.
© IJN 2026
